E 

331 

B7S 


£33 


EXAMINATION 


THE  PRESIDENT'S  REPLT 


TO  THE 


NEW-HAVEN  REMONSTRANCE ; 


WITH 


APPENDIX, 


CONTAINING 

THE  PRESIDENT'S  INAUGURAL  SPEECH, 
THE  REMONSTRANCE  AND  REPLY; 

TOGETHER  WITH  A  LIST  OF 

REMOVALS  FROM  OFFICE, 

AND 

NEW  APPOINTMENTS, 

MADE  SINCE  THE  FOURTH  OF  MARCH,  1801. 


NEW-YORK : 

PRINTED    AND    SOLD    BY    GEORGE    F.    HOPKINS, 
\T  WASHINGTON'S  HF.AD. 

1801. 


E 


sfe. 


Published  according  to  Act  of  Congress. 


A  N 


EXAMINATION,  &c 


WHEN  the  first  Magistrate  of  a  great  and  free  Peo- 
ple, so  far  forgets  the  respect  due  to  his  exalted 
station  as  to  make  himself  a  party  to  an  altercation  respect- 
ing his  official  acts,  the  novelty  of  the  spectacle  naturally 
attracts  an  unusual  share  of  attention.  However  the 
friends  of  Mr.  JEFFERSON  may  attempt  to  ascribe  this 
measure  to  a  becoming  condescension,  men  of  com.v.1 
minds  cannot  but  perceive  in  it  a  mischievous  tendency  to 
lower  the  appropriate  dignity  of  official  character. 

IN  the  organization  of  a  Government,  there  must  al- 
ways be  lodged  in  the  Executive  a  sound  and  legal  dis- 
cretionary power,  to  remove  from  office  for  inability  or 
delinquency,  without  being  obliged  to  explain  to  the  Pub- 
lic the  reasons  of  his  conduct.  For  him  to  make  it  the 
subject  of  controversy,  implies  a  right  to  demand,  and 
a  correspondent  obligation  to  furnish,  proof;  a  proceed- 
ing which  would  unavoidably  lead  to  difficulties  incon- 
sistent with  the  free  and  proper  exercise  of  the  power. 
It  is  easy  to  trace  this  indiscreet  measure  in  Mr.  JEFFER- 
SON to  those  levelling  principles,  which  it  is  so  much  the 
fashionable  philosophy  of  the  day  to  inculcate  ;  but  against 


which  it  is  the  duty  of  all  good  men  every  where,  and 
upon  all  occasions,  to  bear  their  unequivocal  testimony. 

. 
RESPECT  is  due  to  office;  but  I  hold  it  important  to  this 

community,  that  the  character,  views,  and  talents  of  Mr. 
JEFFERSON,  should  neither  be  over-rated  nor  misunder- 
stood. It  is  a  sacred  duty,  which  every  man  owes  his 
country,  to  place  before  his  fellow-citizens  the  conduct  of 
those  who  preside  over  our  public  affairs,  and  of  none 
more  so  than  of  the  present  Executive,  whom  his  friends 
spare  no  pains  to  extol,  and  whom  they  have  emphatically 
stiled  THE  MAN  OF  THE  PEOPLE. 

WHILE,  therefore,  candor  and  decency  guide  the  way, 
I  shall  not  shrink  from  the  investigation,  however  pain- 
ful the  task  to  myself,  or  however  humiliating  and  dis- 
graceful in  its  result  to  him. 

WITH  the  deepest  anxiety,  then,  I  turn  to  the  Reply 
before  us ;  fearful  that  it  is  here  we  are  to  look  for  the 
real  sentiments  of  the  President,  and  not  to  the  delusive 
Address  by  which,  on  the  threshold  of  office,  he  sought  to 
lull  the  fears,  and  win  the  confidence  of  the  people. 

His  conduct,  since  that  period,  has  not  ceased  to  vary 
from  the  professions  he  then  made.  Finding  reproaches 
for  his  shameful  inconsistency  to  thicken  upon  him  from  all 
parts  of  the  union,  he  seems  to  have  thought  it  necessary, 
by  some  bold  act,  to  tear  off  the  mask,  and  at  once  acknow- 
ledge his  duplicity.  In  so  short  a  time,  has  he  reduced 
himself  to  the  unhappy  dilemma,  of  either  thwarting  the 


[     5     ] 

views  of  his  party,  or  of  disavowing  his  own  sentiments 
itlready  committed  to  the  world.  Instead  of  pursuing  that 
mild  and  conciliatory  system  of  conduct,  tending  to  restore 
harmony  to  social  intercourse^  for  which  he  had  pledged 
himself,  and  thus  gradually  to  wear  off  the  asperities  of 
party,  he  has  suddenly,  and  unexpectedly,  departed  from 
this  just  and  honorable  policy ;  divided  the  people  into 
two  distinct  classes  ;  branded  one  as  an  odious  SECT  ;  and 
in  the  true  spirit  of  a  bigot,  he  now  wages  a  war  of  exter- 
mination against  all  who  are  not  within  the  pale  of  his  es- 
tablished Church. 

BUT  waving  further  preliminary  remarks,  I  come  to  the 
Reply  itself.  Unless  I  am  greatly  mistaken,  it  will  be 
found  to  afford  sufficient  cause  for  the  most  serious  reflec- 
tion. I  solicit,  therefore,  the  patient  attention  of  mode- 
rate and  thinking  men,  of  whatever  party,  whilst  I  enter 
upon  its  examination. 

MR.  JEFFERSON  begins  with  observing,  that  "  of  all 
"  the  various  executive  duties,  no  one  excites  more  anx- 
a  ious  concern,  than  that  of  placing  the  interest  of  his 
44  fellow-citizens  in  the  hands  of  honest  men,  with  undcr- 
u  standing  sufficient  for  their  station."  Perhaps  he  could 
not  have  blundered  upon  a  more  unlucky  introduction. 
The  justness  of  the  remark  is  not  to  be  questioned  ;  but 
its  application  to  the  case  before  him  cannot  easily  be  per- 
ceived. Does  he  mean,  that  honesty  and  a  good  under- 
standing are,  of  themselves,  sufficient  recommendations 
to  office  ?  This,  though  at  direct  variance  with  what  he 
says  in  the  conclusion  of  the  Reply,  is  the  only  meaning  of 


[     6     ] 

which  this  part  of  it  is  susceptible.  If  this  be  so,  I  a?k, 
why  is  it,  that  when  the  public  interest  has  already  bee*->. 
placed  in  the  hands  of  an  honest  man,  with  understand- 
ing sufficient  for  his  station,  time  is  taken,  inforr- 
is  sought,  merely  for  the  purpose  of  removing  him.  and 
placing  another  in  his  stead?  That  Mr.  GOODRICH  pos- 
sessed these  qualifications  in  an  eminent  degree,  Mr.  JEF- 
FERSON dare  not  deny.  Where>  then,  was  the  necessity 
for  the  exercise  of  this  Executive  duty,  in  searching  for 
another  person  on  whom  to  bestow  the  like  confidence  ? 
Well  may  he  say,  "no  duty  js  more  difficult  to  fulfil:" 
Hapless  man  !  judging  from  the  sample  before  us,  he 
seems  to  have  found  the  justification  of  it  equally  difficult 
with  the  exercise. 

THE  various  offices  which  Mr.  BISHOP  holds  within  his 
own  state,  are  detailed  as  public  evidences  of  his  fitness  for 
additional  and  new  employments.  There  is  not  a  Jacobin 
in  the  country,  who,  previous  to  the  4th  of  March  last, 
would  not  have  reprobated  such  logic  in  the  Executive  ; 
with  one  voice,  they  would  all  have  exclaimed  against 
accumulation  of  offices  in  an  individual,  and  produced  the 
very  facts  which  Mr.  JEFFERSON  has  resorted  to  in  support 
of  this  appointment,  as  affording  the  best  reasons  why  it 
should  not  have  been  made. 

I  THINK  it  will  not  be  a  little  difficult  to  reconcile  it 
with  their  pure  republicanism,  that  because  a  man  already 
holds  five  offices,  it  is  a  sufficient  inducement  to  con- 
fer on  him  a  sixth:  especially,  when  it  is  remem- 
bered, that  he  has  nearly  attained  to  the  age  of  seven- 


C     f     ] 

ty-  eight  years,  u  is  laboring  under  a  full  portion  of  those 
u  infirmities  which  are  incident  to  that  advanced  period  of 
u  life,"  and  particularly  is  so  much  afflicted  with  the  loss 
of  eye  sight,  that  he  can  "  with  difficulty  even  write  his 


AFTER  enumerating  the  offices  which  Mr.  BISHOP  al- 
ready fills,  Mr.  JEFFERSON  triumphantly  asks,  "  if  it  is 
u  possible  that  such  a  man  can  be  unfit  to  be  Collector  of 
"  the  District  of  New^Haven  ?" 

I  BELIEVE  I  do  not  hazard  too  much  in  saying,  that 
no  man  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight,  is  fit  to  enter  up- 
on the  duties  of  an  office,  which  requires  unremitted 
activity,  industry,  and  vigilance.  He  may  possibly  be 
adequate  to  those  stations  in  which  nothing  is  required 
but  the  exercise  of  judgment  ;  for  this  faculty  may 
remain  unimpaired  long  after  the  more  active  ener- 
gies of  character  have  been  chilled  by  age.  He  may 
also  be  able  to  discharge  with  tolerable  ability,  duties 
which,  by  long  custom,  have  become  halitual  ;  yet  it  will 
by  no  means  follow,  that  he  is  capable  of  undertaking  an 
entire  new  employment,  requiring  the  acquisition  of  anew 
species  of  knowledge,  as  well  as  certain  habits  totally  dif- 
ferent from  those  of  his  past  life.  The  office  of  Collector 
demands,  in  a  particular  manner,  from  the  person  who 
fills  it,  the  most  unremitting  personal  care  and  attention, 
which,  in  the  case  of  Mr.  BISHOP,  it  would  be  idle  to 
look  for.  It  would  be  unreasonable  to  expect  from  a  poor, 
old,  blind  man,  in  the  last  stages  of  bodily  infirmity,  that 
Watchfulness,  which  Mr.  JEFFF.KSON  himself  admits  to  be 


f     8     1 

necessary.  This  new  office  requires  talents  and  informa- 
tion entirely  dissimilar  from  any  which  he  can  be  sup- 
posed to  be  possessed  of :  an  acquaintance  with  our  reve- 
nue laws ;  a  knowledge  of  accounts  ;  and  a  certain  readi- 
ness in  transacting  mercantile  business — All  these  are  in- 
dispensably requisite,  and  must  now  be  acquired  by  a  man 
bending  beneath  a  weight  of  years,  which  demands  re- 
pose from  all  further  toil.  Labors,  which  youth  and  per- 
severance could  alone  accomplish,  are  to  be  undertaken 
by  him,  when  his  dissolution  is  to  be  hourly  expected, 
and  the  yawning  grave  seems  ready  to  close  upon  the  rash 
attempt. 

BUT  in  answer  to  all  this  it  is  said,  that  at  a  much  more 
advanced  age  our  FRANKLIN  was  the  ornament  of  human 
nature. 

WE  shall  have  more  occasions  than  this  to  admire 
the  logical  powers  of  our  President.  The  extraordinary 
instance  of  Dr.  FRANKLIN'S  retaining  to  a  very  old  age  the 
full  possession  of  his  faculties,  is  considered  by  this  gen- 
tleman as  conclusive  proof,  that  a  man  at  seventy-seven 
must  be  equal  to  all  the  active  duties  of  life. 

Mr.  BISHOP,  say  the  New-Haven  merchants,  is  almost 
blind.  How  is  that  possible,  replies  Mr.  JEFFERSON,,  when 
Dr.  FRANKLIN,  who  lived  much  longer,  had  the  perfect 
use  of  his  eyes  ?  Mr.  BISHOP,  say  they  again,  is  sinking 
under  the  pressure  of  those  bodily  infirmities  generally 
incident  to  his  age.  Impossible,  replies  the  Sage,  our 
FRANKLIN  braved  the  ravages  of  time  much  longer,  and 
died  the  ornament  of  human  nature. 


SUCH  reasoning  would  serve  equally  well  to  prove,  that 
every  man  necessarily  must  live  as  long  as  FRANKLIN  did, 
or  that  because  Dr.  FRANKLIN  discovered  electricity,  old 
BISHOP  ought  to  be  converted  into  a  lightning  rod. 

THE  contemptible  sophistry  to  which  the  President 
has  had  recourse  on  this  occasion,  tends  to  show  the 
miserable  shifts  to  which  a  man  will  resort,  who  acts 
from  motives  which  he  is  either  afraid  or  ashamed  to  avow. 
The  "plain  unvarnished  tale"  is  simply  this  ;  the  appoint- 
ment was  virtually  intended  for  the  seditious,  unprincipled 
demagogue,  ABRAHAM  BISHOP;  a  man  too  infamous  for 
direct  notice,  but  who,  under  the  protection  of  his  fa- 
ther's name,  is  to  receive  the  emoluments  of  the  office. 

MR.  JEFFERSON  complains,  that  declarations  made  by 
him,  have  on  certain  occasions  been  misconstrued  into  as- 
surances, u  that  the  tenure  of  offices  was  not  to  be  clis- 
«  turbed." 

MOST  certainly,  if  there  be  any  force  or  meaning  in 
words,  such  is  the  only  construction  that  could  have  been 
put  upon  the  declarations  contained  in  the  Inaugural  Speech. 
There  appeared  a  display  of  uncommon  solicitude,  to  con- 
vey assurances  to  the  people,  that  he  meant  to  pursue  a 
system  moderate,  liberal,  and  conciliatory.  Terms  more 
expressive  of  this  resolution  could  not  easily  have  been 
employed. 

To  what  other  purpose  were  we  invited  to  unite  with 
one  heart  and  one  mind  to  restore  to  social  intercourse  that 

B 


t    10   ] 

harmony  and  affection,  without  which  liberty,  and  even 
life  Itself,  are  dreary  things?  To  what  other  purpose 
were  we  told,  that  we  have  yet  gained  little,  if  we  coun- 
tenance a  political  intolerance  as  despotic  as  wicked,  and 
capable  of  as  bitter  and  bloody  persecutions  ?  To  what 
other  purpose  were  we  called  by  the  affectionate  appella- 
tions of  brethren  of  the  same  principle,  all  republicans,  all 
federalists ;  and  only  distinguished  from  each  other  by 
unessential  differences  in  opinion  ?  To  what  other  purpose 
did  he  promise  equal  and  exact  justice  to  all  men,  of  what- 
ever state  or  persuasion,  religious  or  political?  To  what 
other  purpose  indeed  did  he  declare  these  to  be  among  the 
essential  principles  of  our  Government,  and  those  which 
ought  to  shape  its  administration  ?  To  what  purpose  did  he 
then  plight  his  word,  that  Yns  future  solicitude  would  be,  to 
retain  the  good  opinion  of  those  who  had  bestowed  it  in  ad- 
vance, to  conciliate  that  of  others,  by  doing  them  all  the  good 
in  his  power,  and  to  be  instrumental  to  the  happiness  and 
freedom  of  all  ? 

AFTER  such  and  so  many  soothing  expressions,  calcu- 
lated to  betray  us  into  a  reliance  on  his  justice  and  mode- 
ration, are  we  now  to  be  reproached  with,  a  want  of  can- 
dor,  because  we  were  weak  enough  to  yield  a  ready  and 
generous  credit  to  such  multiplied  professions  ?  because 
we  thought  him  incapable  of  this  insult  and  mockery,  by 
which  he  has  added  another,  and  a  sharper  thong  to  the 
lash  of  cruelty  and  oppression  ? 

BUT  the  rules  by  which  Mr.  JEFFERSON  informs  us  he 
shall  be  guided  in  his  career  of  displacements,  ought  to  af- 


[  11  ] 

ford  abundant  cause  of  consolation.  He  assures  us  that  he 
shall pr occed  in  the  operation,  so  that  it  m&j  injure  the  best 
men  least,  and  effect  the  purposes  of  justice  with  the  least 
private  distress,  and  that  it  shall  fall  as  much  as  possible  on 
delinquency,  on  oppression,  on  Intolerance,  and  on  anti- 
revolutionary  adherence  to  our  enemies. 

i 

HERE,  then,  we  find  In  the  first  place,  that  though  the 
best  men  are  to  be  injured,  yet  at  the  same  instant  he  adds 
something  to  mitigate  the  smart  of  the  wound  ;  provided 
they  can,  like  the  spirits  of  the  damnedT  take  delight  in 
another's  anguish,  for  he  informs  us  he  shall  injure  others 
still  more  than  he  shall  them, 

AGAIN  we  may  observe,  that  though  no  consideration 
for  the  private  distress  he  may  occasion,  is  to  restrain  him 
from  bringing  down  ruin  upon  the  head  of  an  individual 
and  his  innocent  family,  yet,  that  in  the  inflicting  such 
punishment  he  shall  proceed  so  as  to  effect  the  purposes  of 
justice. 

MAY  that  Merciful  Being  "  who*  tempers  the  wind  to 
"  the  shorn  lamb"  protect  us  from  further  marks  of  what 
a  modern  philosopher  may  deem  justice! 

BUT  the  weight  of  Exec.utive  vengeance  seems  to  be  re- 
served to  crush  all  those  who  six  and  twenty  years  ago  dif- 
fered from  him  in  their  political  opinions.  This  last  senti- 
ment of  keeping  alive  a  rancorous  revenge  festering  for- 
ever in  the  bosom,  must  command  the  united  approbation 
of  every  man  of  decency,  benevolence,  morality,  and  re- 
ligion. 


[      12     ] 

LEST  any  one,  however,  should  be  so  far  infatuated  as 
to  believe  that  the  conduct  of  Mr.  JEFFERSON  may  be 
reconciled  with  the  professions  of  which  he  made  such  a 
parade  on  the  4th  of  March,  I  shall  now  examine  this 
system  of  removal  with  which  he  has  begun,  and  show 
that  it  necessarily  militates  with  every  principle  which  he 
there  affects  to  consider  essential  to  our  Government ; 
nay,  I  shall  take  a  bolder  ground,  and  contend  that  his 
duty,  independent  of  any  declarations  to  that  effect,  re- 
quired of  him,  that  the  tenure  of  all  subordinate  offices 
should  remain  undisturbed. 

EVERY  man  who  accepts  an  office,  takes  it  under  an 
implied  contract  with  Government,  that  he  shall  be  con- 
tinued in  it,  as  long  as  he  executes  it  with  fidelity  and  ca- 
pacity. On  thi§  reliance,  he  relinquishes  his  regular  busi- 
ness, quits  those  pursuits  on  which  he  has  heretofore  de- 
pended, and  devotes  his  time  and  talents  to  his  public  em- 
ployment. Unless,  therefore,  he  can  feel  a  confidence 
that  such  employment  will  be  permanent,  the  situation  of 
a  public  officer  will,  of  all  others,  be  the  most  precarious 
und  painful.  To  suppose  that  a  man  of  a  liberal  and  inde- 
pendent mind,  will  submit  to  fill  an  office,  from  which  he 
is  liable  to  be  removed  whenever  it  may  suit  the  caprice  or 
gratify  the  resentment  of  those  in  power,  would  be  deroga- 
tory to  that  high  and  virtuous  spirit,  which  should  ever 
characterise  a  freeman. 

THIS  plan  of  sweeping  from  office  every  man  of  adverse 
politics,  and  proscribing  him  as  unworthy  of  confidence, 
necessarily  widens  the  breach  between  parties,  and  sets  in 


[      13     ] 

hostile  array,    one  half  of  the  community  against  the 
other. 

THE  individual,  who  thus  feels  himself  aggrieved  and 
insulted,  must  possess  great  patriotism  and  fortitude  not 
to  find  his  affections  completely  estranged  from  a  Govern- 
ment which  has  treated  him  so  unworthily.  It  can  indeed 
hardly  be  expected  that  he  will  altogether  restrain  his  re- 
sentment ;  his  friends  and  connections  will  participate  in 
his  feelings ;  the  party  to  which  he  is  attached,  will  not 
long  remain  insensible  of  the  injustice  done  to  him ;  and 
when  at  length  instances  of  oppression  have  multiplied  to 
a  certain  extent,  a  generous  sympathy  will  pervade  the 
community,  and  produce  a  sentiment  of  indignation  which 
shall  level  the  proud  oppressor  in  the  dust. 

IT  would  be  difficult  to  contrive  a  plan  more  completely 
calculated  to  produce  irritation  and  hatred  against  Govern- 
ment, than  that  which  Mr.  JEFFERSON  has  adapted;  one 
which  opposes  more  serious  obstacles  to  harmony  of  inter- 
course ;  one  which  more  effectually  tramples  upon  every 
thing  like  equal  and  exact  justice,  and  which  partakes  more 
of  a  political  intolerance  no  less  despotic  than  rvicked. 

THE  whole  host  of  presidential  sycophants  are  chal- 
lenged to  justify  him  by  the  example  of  any  nation  in 
any  age,  not  under  the  influence  of  Jacobin  councils — In 
the  annals  of  Jacobinism  alone,  could  a  precedent  be  found 
so  totally  subversive  of  every  principle  of  justice,  as  well 
gs  of  sound  policy. 


INDEPENDENT  of  the  injury  done  to  the'  individual,  so- 
ciety itself  materially  suffers  by  the  operation  of  such  a 
system.  There  are  few  offices,  with  the  duties  of  which  a 
a  person  can,  till  after  a  considerable  length  of  time,  so  far 
familiarise  himself,  as  to  perform  with  accuracy  all  the  ne- 
cessary details.  An  intelligent  and  active  man  grows  daily 
more  useful  in  the  employments  to  which  he  devotes 
his  attention ;  he  acquires  a  knowledge  of  business,  and  a 
promptness,  which  are  of  the  highest  service.  But  if  eve- 
ry change  of  a  chief  Magistrate  is  to  produce  an  entire 
change  of  subordinate  officers,  what  is  to  be  the  conse- 
quence r  Their  places  are  to  be  supplied  by  a  new  set  of 
men  who  have  eveiy  thing  to  learn,  and  who,  by  the  time 
they  have  acquired  the  proper  information,  and  have  fitted 
themselves  for  their  stations,  must,  in  consequence  of  a  new 
election,  which  changes  the  state  of  affairs,  be  swept  off  in 
their  turn  to  make  room  for  others  equally  ignorant,  and 
unskilful  with  themselves  at  the  time  of  their  appointment, 

THE  means  of  improvement  being  thus  rejected,  Govern- 
ment will  be  entirely  deprived  of  all  the  benefits  of  expe- 
rience, and  the  management  of  public  affairs,  perpetually 
shifting  from  one  tyro  ia  office  to  another,  will  forever  be 
kept  in  infancy  and  weakness. 

ANOTHER  mischievous  tendency  flowing  from  the  same 
source,  is  the  exclusion  from  office  of  all  such  men,  as  from 
their  talents  and  probity,  are  best  qualified  to  be  placed 
there. 


[      15     ] 

THERE  are  few  men  in  this  country  of  such  indepen- 
dent fortunes,  as  to  live  upon  certain  fixed  revenues — 
The  great  portion  of  the  people  gain  a  livelihood  by  regu- 
lar pursuits,  and  are  dependent  for  support  upon  their  per- 
sonal industry  :  whenever  therefore,  persons  of  the  latter 
description,  accept  a  public  trust,  they  must  give  up  the 
profits  of  their  busines,  and  depend  upon  the  emoluments  of 
their  office.  It  would  seem  then  that  there  ought  to  be 
some  stability  in  this  dependence,  some  certainty  of  its 
continuance,  some  reliance  on  the  part  of  the  individual, 
that  the  Government  which  first  required  his  services; 
which  first  called  upon  him  to  leave  his  former  engage- 
ments ;  should  retain  him  in  its  employment  as  long  as  he 
should  continue  to  exercise  the  same  virtues  and  talents 
that  first  recommended  him  to  its  notice. 

AFTER  having  relinquished  any  particular  business  for  a 
length  of  time,  it  is  not  very  easy  to  resume  it.  This  re- 
mark applies  with  peculiar  force  to  professional  men. 
Those  on  whom  they  formerly  depended  for  business, 
have  in  the  mean  time,  resorted  to  others,  with  whom  they 
have  formed  a  kind  of  connection,  not  always  convenient, 
and  never  pleasant  to  dissolve.  A  man,  thus  obliged  to  re- 
turn to  his  profession,  has,  in  a  great  measure,  again  to 
surmount  all  the  difficulties  which  attended  his  earliest 
practice  ;  and  this  too,  perhaps,  at  an  advanced  period  oi" 
life,  with  an  increased  family  solely  dependent  upon  his 
personal  exertions  and  success. 

TAKE  from  office,  then,  the  stability  of  its  tenure,  and 
you  at  once  destroy  a  great  inducement  to  enter  into  pub- 
lic service. 


[      16     ] 

THE  man  of  wealth  will  not  submit  to  the  toils  and  re- 
proaches incident  to  an  office  whose  emoluments  he  does 
not  want,  and  from  which  he  may  at  any  moment  be  ca- 
priciously removed.  The  man  of  moderate  fortune,  whose 
industry  is  necessary  for  his  support,  would  surely  be 
weak  indeed  to  throw  away  the  profits  of  his  private  busi- 
ness, for  a  temporary  employment,  which  may  be  resum- 
ed at  the  lawless  pleasure  of  every  petty  tyrant,  whom  par- 
ty zeal  may  exalt  to  the  place  of  chief  Magistrate. 

IN  reply  to  this,  I  am  aware  it  may  be  said,  that  fit  men 
have  always  been  found,  in  sufficient  numbers,  to  fill  new 
and  vacant  offices,  and  that  this  will  therefore  continue  to 
be  the  case. 

I  MIGHT  indeed  deny  the  correctness  of  this  assertion, 
for  instances  have  sometimes  occurred,  where,  from  the 
uncertainty  of  their  tenure,  offices  have  with  much  diffi- 
culty been  filled  by  proper  characters. 

BUT,    admitting  it  to  be  wholly  true,  the  conclusion 
drawn  from  it  does  by  no  means  follow ;  for  it  may  be  safe- 
ly asserted,  that  no  opportunity  has  yet  occurred  to  afford 
a  fair  experiment.     Till  this  day,  an  accidental  change  of 
those  in  power,  has  not  been  followed  by  a  correspondent 
change  in  every  inferior  officer,  and  it  therefore  yet  re- 
mains to  be  seen,  whether  virtue  and  talents  will  volunta- 
rily accept  of  office,  when  it  may  subject  them  to  the  evils 
I  have  already  mentioned — Till  this  day  a  mere  difference 
in  shades  of  political  opinion,  has  not  been  deemed  sufficient 
to  hurl  a  man  from  a  post  which  he  was  occupying  with 
honor  a.nd  fidelitv. 


ONCE  establish  this  as  a  principle  of  practice,  and  I 
pronounce,  without  hesitation,  that  respectability,  talents, 
and  virtue,  will  be  found  only  in  private  life,  while  the  gifts 
of  Government  will  be  monopolized  by  needy  adventur- 
ers, men  of  desperate  fortunes  and  abandoned  principles, 
with  whom  immediate  support  and  the  chance  of  pecula- 
tion are  sufficient  motives  to  enter  into  any  service  which 
affords  them  the  best  prospect  of  success. 

IT  is  also  worthy  of  particular  notice,  that  this  system 
of  dismissal  from  office  for  a  difference  in  politics  merely, 
is  a  direct  and  formidable  attack  upon  all  independence  of 
mind,  and  a  violation  of  the  sacred  right  of  opinion.  It  is  a 
species  of  mental  tyranny,  which  till  lately  has  never  made 
its  appearance  in  our  country.  It  is  an  attempt  to  controul 
the  judgment,  render  it  subservient  to  the  views  of  the 
ruling  party,  and  induce  a  man,  from  a  base  attachment  to 
office,  to  sacrifice  his  real  sentiments.  Can  any  thing  be 
more  degrading  to  a  Government  than  thus  holding  out 
a  lure  to  lead  men  astray  from  their  conscientious  duty? 
It  is  tampering  with  their  integrity — it  is  poisoning  their 
morals. 

VIEW  this  system  in  whatever  light  it  can  be  placed, 
and  it  will  be  found  equally  pregnant  with  mischief.  It  is 
calculated  to  involve  the  country  in  the  keenest  animosity, 
to  increase  the  intolerance  of  party,  and  to  excite  a  spirit 
of  persecution  which  may  finally  be  resisted  with  other 

weapons  than  the  pen. Let  those  who  raise  the  storm, 

take  care  that  they  perish  not  by  its  violence, 

C 


C      18     ] 

IT  has  always  been  regarded  as  an  established  rule  of 
decorum,  that  no  principal  officer  should  ever  officially 
attack  the  character  of  his  predecessor.  The  dignity  of 
Government  itself  has  been  supposed  to  be  materially  in- 
terested in  the  rigid  observance  of  this  maxim.  To  hear 
a  Chief  Magistrate  publicly  censure  and  revile  his  pre- 
decessor, must  tend  directly  to  degrade  office  itself;  to 
render  it  cheap  in  the  eyes  of  the  community,  and  deprive 
it  of  that  respectability  so  essential  to  its  very  existence. 

YET,  in  violation  of  this  salutary  rule,  Mr.  JEFFERSON 
charges  the  late  administration  with  having  "proscribed 
"  and  excluded  from  office  all  those  who  were  not  of  a  par- 
"  ticular  SECT  of  politics." 

DOES  Mr.  JEFFERSON  mean  to  include  the  whole  ad- 
ministration since  the  first  establishment  of  the  govern- 
ment ?  or  does  he  mean  to  confine  himself  to  that  of  Mr. 
ADAMS  ?  It  might  seem  indeed,  that  by  the  "  late  adminis- 
"  tration"  that  of  General  WASHINGTON  was  not  intend- 
ed ;  yet  the  expression,  taken  in  connection  with  the  rest 
of  the  Reply,  and  explained  by  Mr.  JEFFERSON'S  con- 
duct, must  be  regarded  as  extending  to  every  preceding 
administration.  It  may,  however,  be  confidently  asserted, 
that  the  position  is  untrue  in  either  sense. 

THE  party  in  power  endeavor  to  justify  the  violence  of 
their  own  proceedings,  by  affirming,  that  the  federalists 
have  set  them  the  example.  A  very  slight  examination 
of  the  charge  will  be  sufficient  to  prove  it  groundless. 


[     19     ] 

FOR  the  existing  administration  of  every  Government  to 
select,  in  general,  from  its  friends,  fit  persons  to  {ill  vacant 
offices,  has  always  been  considered  a  fair  and  proper  prac- 
tice. Whenever  the  Democratic  party  have  possessed  the 
ascendancy  in  the  State  Governments,  they  have  acted  upon 
this  principle  to  a  much  more  rigorous  extent  than  their 
political  opponents  have  ever  done.  The  truth  of  this  might 
be  clearly  illustrated  by  a  comparison  of  even  the  former  ad- 
ministration of  Governor  CLINTON  in  this  State,  with  that 
of  his  successor  Mr.  JAY.  And  this  kind  of  preference, 
when  confined  within  proper  bounds,  may  undoubtedly  be 
justified  by  very  strong  reasons  ;  in  this  opinion  both  par- 
ties have  concurred. 

BUT  there  is  a  very  wide  and  essential  difference  be- 
tween  neglecting  to  appoint  to  office  and  indiscriminately 
removing  from  it  all  who  differ  in  their  political  opin- 
ions from  the  governing  party.  In  the  first  case,  there 
being  two  competitors  for  a  new  employment,  neither 
can  have  any  rightful  claim,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  other; 
and  consequently  no  injury  can  be  done  by  a  preference. 
In  the  latter  case,  the  person  already  in  office,  who  has 
ably  performed  its  duties,  has  an  equitable  claim,  from 
that  circumstance,  to  be  continued  against  every  new  can- 
didate. This  is  a  reward  due  to  faithful  and  able  service, 
which  every  ^entiment  of  natural  justice  will  enforce. 
Besides,  in  th~  first  instance,  the  choice  being  made  from 
persons  equally  inexperienced,  the  presumption  is,  that  no 
inconvenience  will  result  to  the  community,  which  ever 
way  the  preference  is  decided  ;  not  so  in  the  latter,  which 
must  always  be  productive  of  private  injustice,  and  often- 
times of  public  injury.  It  is  dangerous  to  hazard  the  ex- 


[     20     ] 

periment  of  introducing  new  characters,  when  it  can  only 
be  made  by  discarding  those  of  tried  fidelity. 

GENERAL  WASHINGTON  began  his  administration  with 
the  evident  design  of  reconciling  all  parties.  To  act  as 
the  common  father  of  his  people,  and  to  endeavor  to  bury 
the  unhappy  distinctions  of  party,  became  the  moderation 
of  that  illustrious  man.  Numerous  instances  of  this  dis- 
position might  be  produced,  but  to  detail  them  all  would 
lead  to  unnecessary  prolixity :  of  those  which  occur  to  im- 
mediate recollection,  a  sufficient  number  shall  be  adduced 
to  satisfy  candid  men — Amongthese  Mr.  JEFFERSON  him- 
self makes  a  conspicuous  figure. 

THIS  gentleman  long  filled  the  office  of  Secretary  of 
State,  one  of  the  most  dignified  and  important  in  the  gift 
of  Government.  Yet  was  he  among  the  most  formidable 
opposers  of  the  Constitution.  Did  he  not  take  consider- 
able pains  whilst  he  was  in  France,  to  prevent  its  ratifica- 
tion by  the  Virginia  Convention  ?  Did  he  not  send  over  to 
this  country  written  objections  against  it,  and  strenuously 
urge  his  influential  friends  to  persist  in  their  opposition  at 
any  hazard,  short  of  endangering  the  existence  of  the 
Union  ?  Did  he  not,  even  whilst  he  was  a  member  of  the 
cabinet,  oppose  the  measures  of  the  administration,  and 
make  every  use  of  the  influence  which  his  official  station 
gave  him  to  counteract  its  views  ? 

WELL-INFORMED  Federal  men  have  not  yet  forgotten  the 
implacable  and  incendiary  opposition  made  by  the  National 
Gazette  to  every  part  of  the  administration,  except  that 
in  the  hands  of  Mr.  JEFFERSON  himself. 


[     21     ] 

THERE  are  a  variety  of  facts  tend  ing  conclusively  to  show 
that  this  paper  was  established  and  continued  under  the 
patronage  of  Mr.  JEFFERSON. 

THE  editor,  Mr.  FRENEAU,  enjoyed  the  salary  of  a  no- 
minal clerkship,  to  enable  him  to  pursue  at  leisure  his 
work  of  mischief,  until  popular  clamor  compelled  Mr. 
JEFFERSON  to  discontinue  it.  This  Printer  received 
from  him  40O  dollars  yearly,  as  interpreter  of  foreign 
languages,  without  any  pretence  that  he  ever  perform- 
ed the  duties  of  the  office.  They  were  executed  in  part 
by  Mr.  JEFFERSON  himself,  and  partly  by  Mr.  TAYLOR, 
his  chief  clerk.  Can  we  hesitate  as  to  the  inference  to  be 
drawn  from  this  fact  alone  ?  When  it  is  known  farther, 
that  a  confidential  friend  of  the  SECRETARY  managed  the 
negociation  for  the  institution  of  this  paper,  we  cannot  fail 
to  ascribe  the  polluted  sheet  to  its  real  author. 

THIS  conduct  of  Mr.  JEFFERSON  ought  to  have  made 
a  deep  impression  on  the  mind  of  this  community.  It 
exhibits  such  a  breach  of  official  propriety,  as  well  as  mis- 
application of  public  money,  as  ought  ever  after  to  have 
deprived  him  of  the  confidence  of  the  people.  Yet  he 
was  continued  in  office  until  he  thought  fit  to  resign, 
under  the  hypocritical  pretence  of  withdrawing  forever 
from  public  life.* 


*  At  the  time  of  Mr.  JEFFERSON'S  resignation,  he  avowed  his  inten- 
tion of  quitting  forever  all  public  employment — that  he  was  tired  of  party 
strife,  and  meant  to  devote  the  remainder  of  his  days  to  a  philosophical 
retirement — so  sick  of  politics,  that  he  intended  even  to  banish  news- 
papers from  his  house. 


[     22     ] 

MR.  RANDOLPH  was  one  of  the  three  members  of  the 
General  Convention,  who  persisted  in  refusing  to  sign  the 
Constitution.  He  did  indeed  afterwards,  when  a  delegate 
to  the  Virginia  Convention,  support  the  ratification  of  it, 
as  a  less  evil,  in  the  then  state  of  affairs,  than  was  to  be 
apprehended  from  its  rejection ;  but  he  never  gave  up  his 
objections  to  the  Constitution  itself.  Without  any  regard 
to  his  political  sentiments,  however,  he  was  first  appointed 
Attorney  General,  and  afterwards  promoted  to  the  De- 
partment of  State.  What  return  he  made  for  this  liberality, 
we  well  remember — The  name  of  FAUCHET,  and  the  story 
of  the  FLOUR  MERCHANTS,  cannot  yet  be  forgotten.  Here 
are  two  signal  instances,  where  those  of  Mr.  JEFFERSON'S 
.political  SECT  were  placed  in  the  Administration  itself. 

CHANCELLOR  LIVINGSTON,  after  he  apostatized  from 
the  Federal  cause,  was  offered  the  place  of  Minister  to 
France,  which  he  then  saw  fit  to  decline,  but  which  he  has 
recently  accepted  from  the  present  Executive. 

MR.  MUNROE,  who  has  always  been  one  of  the  bitterest 
opposers  of  the  Constitution,  and  among  the  most  malignant 
enemies  of  its  administration,  was  appointed  to  the  place 
which  had  been  refused  by  Mr.  LIVINGSTON.  This  man's 
Embassy  to  France  must  ever  remain  a  stain  upon  our 
national  character.  He  basely  prostrated  the  honor  and 
dignity  of  his  country  before  the  bloody  footstool  of  a 
French  Directory. 

PATRICK  HENRY,  the  great  leader  of  the  opposition  in 
the  Virginia  Convention  j  the  most  virtuous,  able,  and 


[     23     ] 

candid  adversary  the  Constitution  ever  had,  was  offered  the 
place  of  Chief  Justice,  and  several  other  of  the  first  offices 
in  the  Government.  He  declined  all  these  from  a  real 
and  unaffected  preference  of  private  life  to  public  station — 
Not — -from  those  v'mus  of  inordinate  ambition,  which^  with 
a  deep  and  dangerous  cunning  ^  only  sought  retirement  to  be 
courted  from  its  retreat  at  a  more  favorable  moment. 

MR.  PACA,  a  decided  opponent  to  the  Constitution, 
was  promoted  to  the  Judiciary  Department. 

THESE  are  instances,  from  among  the  higher  appoint- 
ments in  the  Government,  which  occur  at  once  to  the  re- 
collection of  the  writer. 

I  SHALL,  however,  conclude  with  the  mention  of  an 
entire  class  of  cases,  of  less  consequence,  though  of  real 
importance ;  and  which  presents  the  matter  in  a  strong 
point  of  view. 

PREVIOUS  to  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution, 
most  of  the  individual  States  had  their  own  particular 
laws  of  impost  and  excise,  and  consequently  their  several 
officers  of  the  customs.  These  officers,  deriving  their  au- 
thority from  the  respective  States,  lost  of  course  their  pub- 
lic characters,  by  the  transfer  to  the  general  Government 
of  the  power  under  which  they  had  acted — It  must  be 
evident,  therefore,  that  they  could  not  expect,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  right,  to  be  appointed  to  office  under  the  revenue 
laws  of  the  United  States,  because  these  were  of  a  different 
and  distinct  nature,  under  a  different  and  distinct  Govern-, 


[     24     ] 

ment.  President  WASHINGTON,  however,  did  appoint 
all  those  officers  who  held  analogous  stations  in  the  several 
States,  and  who  were  properly  qualified,  without  any  re- 
ference to  their  political  opinions.  Many  persons,  under 
this  system,  were,  therefore,  appointed  to  the  most  profit- 
able offices,  who  were  the  zealous  and  violent  enemies  of 
the  Constitution.  Among  this  number  the  inhabitants  of 
New- York  will  long  remember  the  late  General  LAMB, 
who  was  made  Collector  of  the  Customs,  and  who  dis- 
tinguished himself  on  all  occasions  by  his  violent  and  in- 
discriminate opposition. 

YET  it  must  be  acknowledged,  that  this  wise  and 
liberal  policy  of  President  WASHINGTON,  was  afterwards 
in  some  measure  checked,  though  not  relinquished,  from 
the  discouraging  experience,  that  the  adversaries  of  the 
Constitution  made  use  of  their  official  influence  against 
the  administration  itself. 

MR.  ADAMS,  having  had  the  fullest  opportunities  of  ob- 
serving the  ill  success  of  General  WASHINGTON'S  concilia- 
tory plan,  it  ought  not  to  occasion  surprize,  should  he 
have  hesitated  about  continuing  the  experiment.  But, 
whatever  might  have  been  his  inclination  in  this  particu- 
lar, he  had  but  few  opportunities  of  showing  it ;  for,  on 
his  succeeding  to  the  Government,  he  found  all  the  offices 
already  filled.  So  that  in  his  appointments,  he  was 
confined  either  to  those  cases  where  offices  became  vacant, 
or  where  new  ones  were  created.  He  could  not,  therefore, 
establish  any  very  extensive  system  of  practice,  or  mate- 
rially deviate  from  the  one  pursued  by  his  predecessor. 


[     25     ] 

It  is  true,  that  the  increase  of  our  military  force,  and  the 
establishment  of  a  navy,  occasioned  a  number  of  new  ap- 
pointments ;  these  were  by  far  the  most  numerous  por- 
tion of  those  made  during  his  administration :  and  if  the 
sectarian  principles  of  exclusion  which  Mr.  JEFFERSON  has 
so  indecently  ascribed  at  least  to  him,  did  invariably  govern 
his  conduct,  how  is  it  that  we  find  any  of  his  political  op- 
ponents among  those  appointments  ?  yet  it  cannot  be  de- 
nied, that  men  decidedly  hostile  to  the  Government,  did 
receive  military  and  naval  commissions ;  some  of  them 
highly  important  and  responsible.  On  the  civil  list  also 
may  be  found  the  names  of  persons  promoted  by  Mr. 
ADAMS  to  offices  of  dignity  and  trust,  who  were  distin- 
guished for  their  opposition  both  to  the  Constitution  and  its 
Administration. 

BUT  if  it  were  even  true,  that  Mr.  ADAMS  had  really 
acted  upon  the  excluding  system  which  has  been  attributed 
to  him,  it  is  capable  of  a  defence,  that  ought  to  be  satis- 
factory to  all  sensible  and  moderate  men. 

IT  ought  to  be  recollected,  that  during  the  greater  part 
of  the  last  administration,  this  country  was  in  a  situation 
of  peculiar  difficulty  and  danger. 

GOADED  on  to  a  war  with  France,  by  a  repetition  of  in- 
sults and  injuries  from  that  nation,  which  cannot  be  recol- 
lected without  indignation :  endangered  at  home  by  a  se- 
cond rebellion;  opposed  and  perplexed  in  all  its  mea- 
sures by  that  party  which  has  lately  triumphed ;  it  is 

D 


[      26      ] 

not  to  be  wondered  at,  that  in  this  crisis  of  affairs  our 
Government,  in  filling  up  new  and  vacant  offices,  should 
appoint  those  from  whom,  in  that  trying  period,  it  might 
derive  advice  and  assistance. 

AT  such  a  time  it  was  surely  justifiable  to  reject  the 
claims  of  men  who  were  avowedly  hostile  to  the  measures 
of  administration.  To  have  admitted  them  to  a  participa- 
tion, would  have  been  lessening  the  chance  of  unanimity 
and  energy,  if  not  furnishing  the  means  of  entire  defeat. 
But  in  times  of  peace  and  tranquillity,  few  occasions  occur 
to  embarrass  the  ordinary  proceedings  of  Government,  or 
which  present  points  of  controversy  calculated  to  excite 
any  dangerous  collision  of  opinion  :  there  is  not,  therefore, 
the  same  necessity  at  present  for  this  extraordinary  care  in 
the  distribution  of  office,  as  there  was  at  that  time.  But 
there  is  no  state  of  affairs  which  can  warrant  the  violent 
proceedings  with  which  Mr.  JEFFERSON  has  commenced 
his  career* 

ADMITTING,  however,  that  the  late  administration  did 
"  monopolize  nearly  the  whole  offices  of  the  United  States," 
is  not  this  made  by  Mr.  JEFFERSON  a  subject  of  heavy  com- 
plaint? Does  he  not  consider  it  a  procedure,  as  he  calls  it, 
which  he  is  determined  to  correct  I 

BUT  in  what  manner  does  he  propose  to  correct  it  I  No 
otherwise  than  by,  not  only  adopting  the  very  same  con- 
duct against  which  he  clamors  as  an  injustice,  but  by  carry- 
ing it  to  an  extent  which  never  had  precedent  in  this  coun- 
try, until  the  Jacobin  M'KEAN  gave  the  lead,  which  the 


[     27     ] 

President  of  the  United  States  has  humbly  and  faithfully 
condescended  to  follow.  Not  only  does  he  refuse  to  ap- 
point to  office  any  one  not  of  his  own  SECT,  but  he  ac- 
tually turns  out  those  who  do  not  implicitly  follow  his 
own  tenets,  or  are  not  ready  to  make  a  slavish  surrender 
of  the  right  of  opinion.  It  is  of  no  consequence,  in  his 
view,  that  the  officer  is  filling  his  station  with  competent 
ability,  and  perfectly  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  public.  A 
man  removed  under  such  circumstances,  has  surely  more 
reason  to  complain  than  that  he  was  not  at  first  appointed. 

THE  present  Administration,  therefore,  go  beyond  their 
predecessors  in  those  very  steps*  which  they  have  pronounc- 
ed odious ;  though  in  the  same  breath,  they  declare  their 
intention  of  following  them. 

CAN  that,  then,  which  was  wrong  in  Mr.  ADAMS,  be 
right  in  Mr.  JEFFERSON?  Is  there  a  magic  in  the  name  of 
the  latter,  that  can  render  proper  in  him  what  was  con- 
demned as  a  fault  in  the  former ;  that  can  make  the  same 
thing  praise-worthy  in  one,  which  was  thought  deserving 
of  execration  in  the  other  ?  But  alas !  to  what  extremes  of 
inconsistency  and  absurdity  will  not  men  be  driven  who 
feel  "power  and  forget  right  ?" 

MUCH  sophistry  is  employed  in  this  reply,  to  prove 
that  though  Mr.  GOODRICH  was  displaced,  yet  it  could  not 
candidly  be  called  a  removal:  This  may  be  produced  as  an  un- 
rivalled specimen  of  the  logical  powers  of  the  Philosopher 
of  Monticello. 


[     28     ] 

MR.  GOODRICH  was  appointed  Collector  for  the  Dis* 
trict  of  New-Haven,  on  the  19th  day  of  February  last,  and 
continued  in  the  exercise  of  the  duties  of  that  office  until 
the  appointment  of  Mr.  BISHOP,  which  took  place  about 
the  first  of  June.  Thus,  for  the  space  of  more  than 
three  months,  Mr.  GOODRICH  transacted  the  busi- 
ness of  Collector,  under  a  constitutional  appointment; 
and  yet  Mr.  JEFFERSON  affects  to  consider  the  office  du- 
ring all  this  time  as  either  vacant  or  usurped.  He  very 
gravely  asks,  "  Was  it  proper  for  him  to  place  himself  in 
"  office  without  knowing  whether  those  whose  agent  he  was 
"  to  be  could  have  confidence  in  his  agency  ?  Can  the  prefer - 
"  ence  of  another,  as  the  successor  of  Mr.  AUSTIN,  be  can- 
"  didly  called  a  removal  of  Mr.  GOODRICH  ?" 

S6,  then,  Mr.  GOODRICH  has  placed  himself  in  office , 
but  has  never  been  in  office :  here  is  a  displacement^  but  not 
a  removal;  and  SAMUEL  BISHOP  does  not  fill  the  place  of 
Mr.  GOODRICH,  but  is  the  immediate  successor  of  Mr. 
AUSTIN,  who  died  in  February  last. 

REALLY  I  know  not  whether  such  disgraceful  absurdi- 
ties ought  most  to  excite  contempt,  or  whether,  consider- 
ing the  occasion,  every  other  emotion  ought  not  to  give 
place  to  unrestrained  indignation.  Is  it  then  possible,  that 
the  President  of  the  United  States  could  seriously  treat  a 
numerous  and  respectable  body  of  our  citizens  in  so  inde- 
corous a  manner  ?  It  is  insulting  to  the  good  sense  of  the 
community  to  attempt  to  impose  such  arrant  nonsense  up- 
on them,  as  the  homage  of  his  highest  respect.  Profound, 
indeed,  must  his  respect  be  1  Truly  flattering  to  the  mer- 


[     29     ] 

chants  of  New-Haven  1  The  President  evinces  the  high 
estimation  in  which  he  holds  them,  by  treating  them  as, 
weaker  than  children  ;  more  insignificant  than  idiots. 

MR.  JEFFERSON  seems  to  insinuate,  that  his  removal!} 
from  office  have  hitherto  been  confined  to  those  persons 
who  were  appointed  in  the  last  moments  of  the  preceding 
administration.  The  case  before  him  was,  it  is  true,  of 
that  description ;  but  it  is  almost  a  solitary  one.  Removals 
are  numerous,  of  men  who  had  long  held  their  offices, 
some  as  early  as  the  very  organization  of  the  Government, 
and  most  of  them  under  appointments  of  the  wise  and 
sagacious  WASHINGTON:  Yet,  because  Mr.  GOODRICH 
was  appointed  only  a  fortnight  before  the  close  of  the  last 
administration,  the  circumstance  is  eagerly  seized  upon 
to  gloss  over  with  the  semblance  of  plausibility  those  bane- 
ful measures  which  have  already  fixed  the  indelible  stamp  of 
folly  and  oppression  upon  the  present  administration. 

NoTHiNGless,  in  my  judgment,  is  intended  by  the  manner 
in  which  Mr.  JEFFERSON  speaks  of  Mr.  GOODRICH'S  ap- 
pointment, than  a  gross  and  studied  insult  on  the  late  Pre- 
sident, and  on  the  Senate.  He  has  unequivocally  accused 
them  of  imposing  agents  upon  him,  in  whom  he  could  have 
no  confidence  ;  and  he  insinuates  too  plainly  to  be  misun- 
derstood, that  the  appointment  was  made  with  a  direct 
view  to  thwart  and  embarrass  him  in  his  measures,  ancj 
perplex  him  in  his  administration. 

"  WAS  it  proper  for  Mr.  GOODRICH  to  place  himself  in 
<4  office  ?" 


[     30     ] 

THE  mode  of  appointment  is  well  known,  and  in 
this  instance  was  regularly  and  rightfully  pursued.  The 
collectorship  of  New-Haven,  having  become  vacant  by  the 
death  of  Mr.  AUSTIN,  the  public  interest  required  that  it 
should  be  filled  as  soon  as  practicable,  since  greater  or  less 
inconvenience  must  necessarily  have  resulted  from  any 
delay:  Mr.  ADAMS,  therefore,  very  properly  proceeded, 
u  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,"  to 
supply  the  vacancy.  The  circumstance  of  its  being  two 
weeks  or  two  years  previous  to  the  expiration  of  his  Presi- 
dency, could  make  no  possible  difference :  it  is  riot  pre- 
tended it  could.  The  right  was  vested  in  him,  it  became 
his  bounden  duty  to  exercise  it ;  and  the  only  question 
with  his  successor  ought  to  have  been,  whether  the  per- 
son appointed  possessed  talents  and  integrity  equal  to  the 
station. 

BUT  it  is  made  a  matter  of  complaint  by  Mr.  JEFFERSON, 
that  he  was  not  consulted  on  the  occasion,  as  Mr.  GOOD- 
RICH was  soo7i  to  become  his  agent. 

EVIDENTLY  there  is  no  propriety  in  this,  because,  as  the 
responsibility  of  the  appointment  rested  exclusively  upon 
Mr.  ADAMS,  he  surely  was  not  bound  to  take  Mr.  JEF- 
FERSON into  his  councils,  nor  was  he  subjecttobe  controul- 
ed  by  his  advice.  It  is  to  Mr.  ADAMS  that  the  public  will  look 
for  whatever  was  done  during  his  administration,  and  not 
to  Mr.  JEFFERSON:  if  any  blame,  therefore,  ought  to  be 
attached  to  this,  or  to  any  other  act,  it  will  be  charge- 
able upon  its  real  author,  and  not  on  Mr.  JEFFERSON. 
To  have  admitted  him  to  this  participation  of  power,  might 


[     31     ] 

have  been  making  Mr.  ADAMS  answerable  for  the  indis- 
cretions of  Mr.  JEFFERSON,  and  presenting  an  opportunity 
that  might  have  been  seized  upon  to  cast  an  unmerited 
odium  on  the  man  who  ought  not  to  be  liable  to  it. 

FOR  the  sake  of  illustration,  we  will  suppose  that  Mr. 
ADAMS  had  consulted  Mr.  JEFFERSON  on  this  very  ap- 
pointment. What  would  have  been  the  result  ?  To  have 
been  consistent,  Mr.  JEFFERSON  must  have  disapproved  of 
Mr.  GOODRICH  as  a  man  not  worthy  of  his  confidence, 
and  have  recommended  SAMUEL  BISHOP.  Either  Mr. 
ADAMS,  from  a  false  complaisance  to  Mr.  JEFFERSON, 
must  have  made  an  appointment  which  he  could  neither 
approve  of  nor  justify,  and  incurred  the  deserved  unpo- 
pularity of  such  a  measure,  or  the  consultation  would  have 
been  worse  than  nothing. 

IT  cannot,  therefore,  be  conceded,  that  the  circumstance 
of  lateness  of  appointment  affords  any  reason  for  removal. 
Those  who  had  been  appointed  for  years,  had  no  more 
been  approved  of  by  Mr.  JEFFERSON,  than  those  who 
were  to  "  commence  their  career  at  the  same  time  "  with 
himself.  How,  then,  was  he  to  expect  from  the  old  offi- 
cers a  more  cordial  co-operation  than  from  the  new,  since 
he  says  that  the  whole  offices  of  the  United  States  were 
monopolized  by  an  adverse  SECT  of  politics  ?  If  the 
principles  and  habits  of  this  SECT  are  so  much  at  variance 
with  those  which  govern  that  of  which  Mr.  JEFFERSON  has 
become  the  head,  then  surely  the  officers  selected  from 
the  former,  whether  that  selection  has  been  of  recent  or  of 
long  standing,  are  equally  and  indiscriminately  fit  subjects 


[     32     ] 

for  the  exercise  of  Mr.  JEFFERSON'S  power  of  removal. 
That  he  thinks  so  himself,  is  indeed  evident  from  his 
conduct,  for  his  "  displacements  "  did  not  begin  with  the 
appointments  last  made,  nor  have  they  in  any  manner  been 
confined  to  them. 

THERE  remains  another,  and  more  important  point  of  view 
in  which  this  power  of  removal  and  appointment  deserves 
consideration,  as  it  involves  in  it  a  constitutional  question 
of  the  greatest  moment  to  the  community. 

How  far  the  President  had  in  any  case  the  sole  right  of 
removal  from  office,  was  early  drawn  into  controversy,  and 
made  a  subject  of  serious  debate  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives during  the  first  session  of  Congress.  On 
that  occasion,  Mr.  MADDISON,  then  a  zealous  and  able 
federalist,  contended  that  the  unqualified  right  to  re- 
move did  exist  in  the  Executive  alone.  This  power  was 
considered  of  so  very  high  and  confidential  a  nature, 
that  it  was  not  yielded  without  much  objection  and 
difficulty :  but  at  length  the  construction  advocated  by  Mr. 
MADDISON  was  adopted,  and  has  ever  since  prevailed. 

NOT  so  the  power  of  appointment  to  office :  The  consti- 
tution has  not  left  that  a  constructive  power. 

THE  second  article  of  the  constitution  vests  in  the  Pre- 
sident the  right  of  appointing  "officers  of  the  United  States, 
41  by  and  -with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate"  Had  the 
article  stopped  here,  there  could  be  no  pretence  that  the 
President  alone  could  in  any  case  appoint  to  office.  It  was 


[     33     ] 

however  foreseen,  that  vacancies  might  happen  in  the  recess 
of  the  Senate,  which  the  exigencies  of  the  public  would 
demand  to  be  filled  before  that  body  could  be  convened, 
and  consulted— Therefore  in  the  same  section  it  is  provi- 
ded, that "  Tile  President  shall  have  power  to  fill  up  vacan- 
cies  that  may  happen  during  the  recess  of  the  Senate,  by 
granting  commissions  which  shall  expire  at  the  end  of 
their  next  session." 

THE  evident  intent  of  this  provision  in  the  Constitution 
is,  that  appointment  to  office  shall  be  the  joint  act  of  the 
President  and  Senate ;  with  the  single  exception,  that 
in  case  of  vacancies  happening  during  the  recess,  the  Presi- 
dent alone  may  appoint. 

To  provide  for  this  casualty,  so  that  the  public  service 
should  noc  suffer,  the  clause  was  added,  empowering  the 
President  alone  to  fill  such  vacancy.  The  ttrms  employed 
in  the  Constitution  import  casuaiti And  it  is  observa- 
ble, that  such  a  jealous  solicitude  was  entertained  respect- 
ing the  exercise  of  this  power ;  such  apprehension,  that  it 
might  possibly  be  made  use  of  to  create  Executive  influ- 
ence, that  it  is  immediately  added,  that  all  u  commissions 
thus  granted  should  expire  at  the  end  of  the  next  session." 

APPOINTMENTS  by  the  President  alone,  being  thus  pre- 
dicated on  casualty,  and  by  way  of  exception  to  a  gene- 
ral rule,  it  may  be  taken  as  a  sound  position,  that  the 
general  rule  should  never  give  way  but  in  cases  which 
come  fairly  within  the  exception  stated. 

E 


E    S4    ] 

DESIGNATION  and  death  are  each  plain  instances  of 
casualty;  delinquency  may  also,  without  a  forced  con- 
struction, be  added.  These  are  the  cases,  in  which  public 
convenience  requires  the  exercise  of  this  extraordinary 
power  by  the  President. 

'  BtJT — for  the  Executive  to  undertake  voluntarily  and- 
deliberately,  to  create  vacancies  in  the  recess  of  the 
Senate,  for  the  express  purpose  of  filling  them  himself — •> 
for  him  thus  to  displace  entire  classes  of  officers  \vithout 
any  charge  of  delinquency,  and  without  even  a  shadow 
of  pretence  that  the  public  service  required  it  -,  merely 
on  the  vague,  speculative  notion  of  balancing  the  emolu- 
ments of  office  between  two  contending  political  SECTS,  is 
not  only  a  striking  deviation  from  good  sense  and  propri- 
ety, but  a  material  departure  both  from  the  letter  and  spirit 
of  the  Constitution.  It  is  nothing  short  of  converting 
the  exception  into  the  general  rule.  To  justify  this  exer- 
cise of  power,  will  drive  him  to  a  solecism — it  Is  to  create 
0  casualty. 

IT  is,  therefore,  emphatically  an  abuse  of  power ;  and 
inasmuch  as  it  is  also  attended  with  individual  injury,  it  is 
TYRANNY.* 

BUT  if  the  manner  in  which  this  power  has  lately  been 
employed,  be  justifiable,  then  so  far  from  its  being  made 

*  Besides  it  may  be  observed,  that,  evea  admitting  the  principle  adopt- 
ed by  Mr.  JEFFERSON  to  be  correct,  the  practice  upon  it,  as  it  respected 
the  public  service,  might,  without  materially  affecting  the  end  intended, 
'have  been  delayed  till  the  next  regular  meeting  of  the  Senate,  to  be  ex- 
ercised according  to  the  design  and  provision  of  the  Constitution. 


C     23     ] 

subservient  to  the  public  weal,  it  becomes  an  active  instru- 
ment of  political  intolerance  in  the  hands  of  the  Execu- 
tive, whenever  he  may  be  unprincipled  enough  to  devote 
himself  to  the  views  of  a  faction.  It  will  only  be  for  the 
President  either  to  wait  for  a  recess  of  the  Senate  before 
he  thus  creates  a  vacancy  for  the  purpose  of  filling  it  up 
more  to  his  satisfaction :  or  when  circumstances  will  not 
admit  of  this  delay,  he  may  proceed  to  nominate,  and,  "by 
and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,"  to  appoint 
the  officer  they  approve  of,  and  in  the  first  moments  of  the 
recess  dismiss  him,  merely  to  substitute  his  favorite. 
Thus  the  controul  which  the  Constitution  intended  the  Se- 
nate should  have  over  appointments,  would  be  in  a  great 
measure,  if  not  entirely,  lost. 

IT  is  true,  all  appointments  made  by  him,  are  to  be  sub- 
mitted  to  that  Honorable  Body  for  their  approbation  ;  but 
should  they  exercise  their  constitutional  right,  and  refuse 
their  sanction,  would  not  our  public  "functionary"  have  pla- 
ced himself  and  his  friends  in  a  very  aukward  dilemma  ? 

Is  it  dignified  in  a  Chief  Magistrate  of  a  nation  to  sub- 
ject himself  to  the  hazard  of  so  humiliating  an  event  ?  Is 
it  decent  in  him  to  usurp  the  sole  excercise  of  rights 
which  are  confided  to  him  jointly  with  others  ?  Is  it  res- 
pectful to  the  Senate  to  bring  them  into  a  situation  where 
they  might  hesitate  between  expedience  and  duty ;  where 
they  must  either  submit  to  Executive  influence,  or  ex- 
pose the  country  to  all  the  mischiefs  of  unsettled  policy? 


[     36     ] 

It  may  be  added,  that  the  consequence  of  yielding  to 
this  exercise  of  power,  is  to  establish  a  precedent  which 
will  indirectly  give  the  Executive  a  dangerous  controul 
over  that  equal  and  distinct  right  of  examining  and  decid- 
ing upon  appointments,  which  the  Constitution  plainly  in- 
tended to  vest  in  the  Senate. 

IT  is  wrong  to  say,  that  the  Senate  would  not  withhold 
their  assent,  from  an  apprehension  of  the  consequences 
upon  the  stability  of  office.  This  would  be  to  pursue  the 
shadow,  and  lose  sight  of  the  substance — It  would  be  to 
reduce  the  Senate  to  a  mere  cypher,  nay,  worse ;  for  it 
would  involve  them  in  a  heavy  and  extensive  responsibil- 
ity, while  the  whole  power  of  appointment  is  left  in  the 
hands  of  the  President.  This  would  at  once  enable  him 
to  indulge  his  partialities,  his  prejudices,  and  his  resent- 
ments, at  the  expense  of  the  dearest  rights  of  the  commu- 
nity. Remove  the  constitutional  check  which  the  Senate 
holds  over  him,  and  he  becomes  absolute.  * 

IT  is  not,  then,  merely  the  right,  but  it  is  the  strict  duty 
of  the  Senate  to  examine  into  the  removals  and  appoint- 
ments which  have  been  made  during  their  recess  ;  and 
should  it  appear  to  them,  that  they  have  been  the  result  of 


*  But  while  I  condemn  that  conduct  in  others,  which  arises  from  suf- 
fering duty  to  be  blinded  by  passion,  le,  me  not  betray  a  lii,e  disposition 
in  myself.  I  admit,  tha:  in  the  highest  offices  of  State,  where  there  is 
nothing  personally  objectionable,  the  President  should  be  gratified  in  the 
choice  of  his  officers  ;  and  a  disposition  -o  acquiesce  should  prevail  even 
in  the  subordinate  appointments,  when  there  is  no  material  obejectjon  on 
the  ground  of  PRINCIPLE. 


[     37     ] 

an  oppressive  system  ;  should  they  find  that  whole  classes 
of  men  have  been  arbitrarily  removed  from  office  because 
they  would  not  fall  down  and  worship  the  Idol  which  had 
been  set  up  ;  and  that  their  places  have  been  supplied  by 
a  set  of  people  not  recommended  by  their  talents  or  quali- 
fications, but  promoted  from  nitre  party  attachment,  and  a 
pernicious  spirit  of  favoritism  ;  they  ought  boldly  to  cor- 
rect the  evil,  and  teach  a  President  so  disregardful  of 
his  duty,  that  the  office  he  holds,  is  for  the  salutary  pur- 
poses of  public  good,  and  not  for  the  gratification  of  his 
private  passions. 

No  discreet  man,  who  calmly  considers  this  conduct  of 
the  President,  so  different  from  that  moderation  and  jus- 
tice which  should  never  forsake  the  ruler  of  a  free  people, 
but  must  see  in  it  consequences  to  excite  the  most  alarm- 
ing apprehensions, 

Is  it  in  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution  and  Laws  which 
he  has  sworn  to  support  ?  With  plain  men,  unaccustomed 
to  the  subtilties  taught  in  the  school  of  modern  Philosophy, 
it  cannot  fail  of  being  considered  a  palpable  violation  of 
both. 

IF  such  practice  may  be  tolerated,  it  is  in  vain  to  attempt 
to  guard  against  the  encroachments  of  power  by  any  form  of 
language.  Utterly  in  vain  is  it  to  attempt  to  frame  written 
constitutions — They  will  only  serve  to  conceal  the  chains 
with  which  an  ambitious  despot  may  manacle  our  liberties 
whenever  it  suits  his  humor. 


a 


[     33     ] 

IT  is  easy  to  resist  the  open  force  of  an  enemy,  but 
igainst  those  insidious  attacks,  where  the  hand  is  conceaU 
ed  while  it  strikes,  neither  prudence  or  courage  can  avail* 


WHILST  measures  are  taken  under  the  imposing  pre- 
tence of  rightful  authority,  we  are  too  apt  to  relax  our 
caution,  and  submit  without  examination.  There  are 
times,  however,  when  public  vigilance  will  be  roused  to 
a  narrow  inspection  of  the  conduct  of  those  whom  we  have 
exalted  into  the  highest  places  of  honor  and  trust :  when  the 
Chief  Magistrate  will  be  reminded,  that  his  pleasure  is  to 
be  bounded  by  a  regard  for  the  true  interests  of  the  peo- 
ple j  and  that  whatever  extent  of  power  they  have  delegated 
to  him,  it  is  a  fund  on  which  they  have  a  right  to  draw  for 
their  own  use,  and  their  own  happiness,  and  is  not  to  be 
misapplied  by  him  to  answer  the  purposes  of  party  rancor 
or  personal  aggrandizement.  We  hold  it  to  be  essential 
to  the  due  exercise  of  authority,  that  to  be  rightful  it  must 
be  reasonable.  A  contrary  doctrine  would  be  unworthy  of 
freemen. 

THOSE  who  have  placed  Mr.  JEFFERSON  in  office,  have 
been  uniformly  clamorous  against  ideal  innovations  upon 
the  Constitution.  Scarcely  an  act  of  the  Government  out 
of  the  ordinary  course  of  business,  that  has  not  been  de- 
clared by  them  to  be  unconstitutional.  But  on  a  sudden 
they  make  a  bountiful  display  of  regard  and  veneration  for 
^an  instrument,  which,  before  its  adoption,  they  did  every 
thing  in  their  power  to  vilify,  and  the  administration  of 
which  they  have  left  no  effort  untried  to  calumniate.  The 
moment  they  fancy  themselves  masters  of  the  "  honors 


[     39     ] 

fend  confidence"  of  the  people,  all  is  safe  and  secure; 
power  in  their  hands  loses  its  terrors,  and  the  apprehen- 
sion of  its  abuse  is  lulled  to  sleep.  THE  MAN  OF  TH& 
PEOPLE  may  trample  upon  private  rights  at  pleasure  ;  in- 
vade the  sacred  provisions  of  the  Constitution  ;  insult  and 
disfranchise  one  half  of  the  community  ;  yet  all  this  can 
be  endured  without  a  single  murmur  from  these  ferce 
Republicans. 

WE  have  also  of  late  years  been  often  entertained  with 
invectives  against  Executive  patronage  ;  it  has  been  a 
theme  on  which  the  patriotic  orators  of  the  day  have  ex- 
ultingly  declaimed.  How  much  is  it  to  be  lamented,  that 
they  have  already  exhausted  their  rhetoric  on  an  imagina- 
ry grievance,  whilst  the  reality  is  suffered  quietly  to  pass 
without  notice  or  observation !  If  they  could  have  res- 
trained their  declamatory  fervor  to  the  present  period,  they 
would  have  found  in  a  few  short  months  abundant  mate- 
rials on  which  to  employ  their  eloquence,  strengthened 
and  supported  by  truth.  But  this  is  not  the  purpose  for 
which  their  talents  are  called  into  action :  they  startle  at 
its  approach — they  vanish  at  its  touch. 

-  MR.  JEFFERSON  seems  determined,  in  order  to  intro- 
duce his  own  SECT  to  "  a  due  participation"  of  favor, 
that  every  Federal  man  who  holds  an  office  of  any  value, 
shall  be  compelled  to  surrender  it ;  that  thus  the  doors  of 
honor  and  confidence  may  be  burst  open  to  all  those  whose 
tried  republicanism  has  merited  the  gracious  smiles  of 
their  master. 


IT  would  afford  us  no  little  amusement  to  hear  the  pre- 
tensions of  some  of  these  candidates,  and  to  know  ho\r 
their  various  claims  have  been  appreciated  and  rewarded. 


[Let  us  suppose  ourselves  then  in  the  audience  chamber.] 

^Mr. .     "  HAVE  not  /,  after  lending  the  utmost  of 

tc  my  abilities  to  frame  the  Constitution,  and  after  employ- 
"  ing  my  voice  and  my  pen  with  effect  to  recommend  it 
«'  to  the  people  for  their  adoption,  very  early  apostatized 
"  from  my  party,  and  entered  into  the  designs  of  yours  ? 
"  Have  I  not  from  that  time  been  incessantly  engaged  in 
"  disseminating  prejudices  against  the  views  of  the  consti- 
"  tuted  authorities  ?  Did  I  not  write  a  Defence  of  the  Vir- 
"  ginia  Resolutions,  when  I  knew  they  tended  directly 
"  to  subvert  the  authority  of  the  general  Government  ? 
"  Have  I  not  been  principally  instrumental  in  producing 
"  the  change  which  has  lately  taken  place,  and  am  I  not 
"  your  chosen  friend,  next  to  the  favored  Genevois  ?" 

President.     "  Be  then  my " 


$fr. .     "  HAVE  /  not  done  my  utmost  to  impede 

c<  the  collection  of  the  Revenue  ?  Have  not  I  signalized 
<c  myself  in  dancing  round  a  Liberty-Pole,  at  the  mad  or- 
u  gies  of  whiskey  patriots,  whose  frantic  gestures  threat- 
*  ened  death  and  destruction  to  every  peaceable  inhabi- 


"  tant  ?  Have  I  not  created  distrust  and  dissatisfaction 
*4  wherever  I  had  any  influence ;  and  excited  hatred  through, 
44  the  country  against  the  administrations  of  WASHINGTON 
"  and  ADAMS  ?  And  have  I  not  stirred  up  and  fomented  a 
44  dangerous  insurrection  against  both  ?" 

President.  "  Mon  cher  citoyen,  Je  suis  ravi  de  trouver 
44  Poccasion  de  vous  obliger.  Je  vous  en  prie  faites  1'hon- 
44  neur  a  la  Republique  d'accepter  la  charge  de  Ministre 
"  des  Finances.  Recevez  I'hommage  de  mon  profonde 
44  respect." 


Mr. .    "  HAVE  not  /  long  since  evinced  my  entire 

44  devotion  to  the  cause,  by  burning  the  votes  of  a  thou- 
44  sand  freemen  to  secure  the  election  of  a  Republican 
"  Governor?  Have  I  not  been  the  suppliant  and  obsequi- 
"  ous  tool  of  the  modern  Cataline  ?  Have  I  not  embraced 
44  every  opportunity  of  reviling  in  the  low  whispers  of 
44  malice,  those  whom  I  knew  to  be  of  unspotted  integrity  ?" 

President.     u  YOUR  services  are  known,  and  the  C-ll-c- 
44  t-rsh-p  of  N-w-Y-rk  is  your  reward." 


Mr. >.    44  HOWBEIT  I  have  humbly  to  acknowledge 

44  my  manifold  transgressions,  in  that  I  was  formerly, a 
*  frail  and  offending  creature,  and  sojourned  with  federal- 

F 


[     42     ] 

"  ists,  and  did  *  persecute  men  for  conscience  sake;  yet 
"  as  I  did  soon  repent  me  of  these  evil  deeds,  and  lay  in 
u  sackcloth  and  ashes,  and  put  ropes  upon  my  head,  and 
"  went  softly,  peradventure  thou  wilt  hear  my  prayer. 
u  /  humbly  beseech  thee  that  I  may  find  grace  in  thy  sight, 
44  my  lord,  0  king. — Bless  me,  my  father,  even  me  also" 

President.     "  ENTER  thou  into  the  S-p-rv-sh-p  of  N-w- 


BUT  to  delineate  the  merits  of  each  successful  candi- 
date, would  lead  me  beyond  my  limits,  and  extend  a  pam- 
phlet to  a  volume. 

PANDEMONIUM  itself  could  not  furnish  stronger  claims 
than  are  daily  offering  up  by  the  hungry  herd  of  Jacobins, 
who  surround  the  throne  of  Presidential  favor.  That  Mr. 
JEFFERSON  proceeds  with  deliberation  and  inquiry,  and 
knows  how  to  apportion  his  rewards,  cannot  be  doubted, 
when  we  see  rebellion  and  apostacy  first  in  "  honor"  first 
-in  u confidence" 

FROM  this  painful  scene,  where  the  figures  which  have 
been  made  to  pass  in  review,  serve  only  to  increase  our  dis- 
gust and  abhorrence,  let  us  now  turn  to  characters  which  real 
virtue  and  genuine  patriotism  will  delight  to  contemplate. 


*  The  name  of  the  late  Abraham  Yates,  formerly  Commissioner  of 
Loans,  will  at  once  suggest  to  Mr.  —  what  is  meant. 


[     43     ] 

THE  old  and  experienced  officers  of  the  Government, 
whose  fidelity  has  never  been  questioned,  demand  the  sin- 
cere tribute  of  our  sympathy.  While  with  pride  we  con- 
template their  great  and  meritorious  services,  can  we  re- 
fuse to  reprobate  that  accursed  system  of  persecution 
which  has  brought  down  affliction  upon  their  heads,  and 
deprived  our  country  of  their  usefulness  ?  This  respecta- 
ble body  of  men  had  a  right  to  expect  from  Mr.  JEFFER- 
SON some  little  courtesy,  at  least  in  the  mode  of  their  dis- 
missal, instead  of  being  rudely  thrust  from  their  places 
under  insinuations  tending  to  excite  cruel  and  odious  sus- 
picions, more  piercing  to  a  generous  mind  than  the  loss 
of  property,  or  even  life  itself.  He  has  endeavored  to  fix 
upon  those  who  have  been  the  victims  of  his  displeasure, 
imputations  which  he  knew  to  be  false,  and  which,  as  a 
private  individual,  he  would  not  dare  to  make. 

HE  has  rated  the  disbanded  group  under  four  descrip- 
tions— delinquency,  oppression,  intolerance,  and  anti-revo- 
lutionary adherence  to  our  enemies.  Let  us  then  examine 
the  characters  of  some  of  those  men  whom  the  President 
has  thought  unworthy  of  his  confidence,  and  see  with  what 
justice  he  has  placed  them  on  his  proscription  list. 

IN  the  case  of  Mr.  GOODRICH,  who  originally  gave  occa- 
sion to  this  Examination,  no  man  will  assert  that  he  can  be 
included  in  either  of  these  classes.  That  he  has  never  been 
either  oppressive,  or  intolerant  in  his  politics,  all  who  know 
him  will  testify ;  that  he  was  a  delinquent,  or  an  anti-revo- 
lutionist, is  not  pretended  ;  and  his  townsmen  and  neigh- 
bors bear  honorable  testimony,  that  "his  office  was  con- 


"  ducted  with  a  promptness,  integrity,  and  ability,  satis- 
"  factory  to  the  mercantile  interest  of  the  district." 

ALTHOUGH  Mr.  HARRISON  was  an  anti-revolutionist, 
yet,  when  it  is  recollected  that  General  WASHINGTON, 
whom  Mr.  JEFFERSON  has  on  o?ie occasion  called  "our 
u  first  and  greatest  revolutionary  character,"  saw  fit  to 
take  him  to  his  confidence,  and  invest  him  with  office,  'is 
it  for  Mr.  JEFFERSON  to  rise  up  at  this  distant  period  of 
time,  and  punish  him  for  his  anti-revolutionary  adher- 
ence ?  When  it  is  remembered  that  his  fellow-citizens, 
who  may  be  presumed  to  be  best  acquainted  with  him,  have 
bestowed  on  him  such  unequivocal  marks  of  their  esteem 
and  respect,  as  to  choose  him  one  of  their  Delegates  to 
the  State  Convention,  to  deliberate  for  them  on  the  adop- 
tion of  our  Federal  Constitution;  is  it  for  the  Pre- 
sident at  this  day  to  single  him  out  as  a  man  unde- 
serving of  trust?  Jt  surely  little  becomes  one  who 
makes  such  everlasting  professions  of  his  respect  for  the 
people,  to  pay  so  little  regard  to  their  opinions,  as  to  turn 
his  back  without  ceremony  upon  them  whenever  they  in- 
terfere with  his  sovereign  will  and  pleasure. 

MR.  HARRISON  holds  a  high  place  in  the  estimation  of 
his  fellow-citizens.  His  virtues  and  his  talents  will  long- 
be  held  by  them  in  pleasing  remembrance  ;  and  whatever 
Mr.  JEFFERSON  may  think,  they  will  make  a  wide  dis- 
tinction between  dismissal  and  disgrace. 

COLONEL  GILES  served  with  reputation  in  the  war,  and 
fp.ught  for  our  Independence.  It  surely  will  not  be  said 
of  him,  that  he  was  either  delinquent,  oppressive,  or  in- 


[     45     ] 

tolerant.  From  the  hands  of  our  beloved  WASHINGTON 
he  also  received  that  commission  which  Mr.  JEFFERSON 
has  now  torn  from  him. 

WILL  it  be  attempted  to  bring  Mr.  SANDS  within  th6 
President's  list  ?  A  more  intelligent  and  faithful  officer,  a 
more  upright  and  amiable  man  in  private  life,  one  less 
"  oppressive'7  and  less  u  intolerant"  in  his  political  senti- 
ments, it  would  be  difficult  to  find.  Possessed  of  a  sound 
judgment,  and  a  disposition  mild  and  conciliatory,,  Mr. 
SANDS  has  at  all  times  had  the  confidence  and  esteem  of 
considerate  men  of  all  parties, 

GENERAL  MILLER,  of  Pennsylvania,  a  veteran  of 
seventy-six,  and  whom  no  one  will  presume  to  rank  under 
any  of  Mr.  JEFFERSON'S  causes  of  dismissal,  is  stript  oi; 
an  office  which  was  conferred  upon  him  by  the  distinguish- 
ing WASHINGTON.  It  was  bestowed  for  the  purpose  of 
enabling  him  to  spend  the  evening  of  his  days  in  ease  and 
competence  ;  as  a  small  reward  to  a  man  who  had  devoted 
the  best  part  of  his  life  to  his  country,  and  exposed  himn 
self  to  death  in  numerous  engagements.  Yet,  with  so 
many  claims  to  the  gratitude  of  his  fellow-citizens,  he  i$ 
one  of  the  first  victims  who  grace  the  triumph  of  republi- 
canism. As  an  American,  my  blood  boils  in  my  veins 
when  I  see  this  brave  man,  this  aged  and  war-worn  soldier, 
thus  turned  adrift  in  the  evening  of  his  days,  after  having 
wasted  his  youth,  and  employed  his  substance  in  the  ser-i 
vice  of  his  countiy.  "  No  American  was  the  author  of 
u  this  shameful  measure  ;  it  bears  a  foreign  stamp,  and 
"  smells  strong  of  that  resentment  and  hatred  which  the 
?'  wicked  must  always  feel  for  the  goocf^  who  would  frustrate 


[     46     ] 

"  his  rebellious  machinations.  GALLATIN,  a  foreigner, 
u  with  impunity  can  foment  an  insurrection  against  the 
u  laws  of  our  country — GALLATIN,  a  foreigner,  can  be 
u  raised  to  the  highest  honors  of  our  country,  without 
4t  rousing  a  spirit  of  scrutiny.  A  MILLER,  a  brave  and 
"  deserving  soldier,  can  be  dismissed  from  the  office  which 
"  gave  him  bread,  and  the  most  submissive  conduct  is 
*'  observed  by  our  citizens.  Tracing  to  a  corrupt  source 
"  this  one  act  of  individual  oppression,  the  mind  is  natur- 
"  ally  led  to  a  contemplation  of  the  extensive  mischiefs  to 
4t  whicji  our  country  is  exposed  by  the  introduction  of 
"  this  noxious  Exotic." 

COLONEL  FISH  is  likewise  found  on  the  list  of  dis- 
placements. This  gentleman  also  served  with  credit 
in  the  American  army,  and  was  among  the  first  appoint- 
ments made  under  the  Federal  Government.  In  the  com- 
mencement of  our  contest  with  Great-Britain,  he  separat- 
ed himself  from  his  own  family,  whose  politics  were  ad- 
verse to  the  Revolution,  and  volunteered  his  services  in 
the  cause  of  our  Independence.  He  derives  from  this  cir~ 
cumstance  the  merit  of  acting  upon  pure  and  disinterest- 
ed principles.  During  the  war  he  supported  the  character 
of  an  active  and  intelligent  officer  ;  since  which  period  he 
has  sustained  an  unblemished  reputation,  and  was  by 
General  WASHINGTON  placed  in  the  office  which  is  now 
taken  from  him. 

THE  last  case  I  shall  mention  is  that  of  Mr.  WATSOX  ; 
a  man  of  unquestionable  probity,  and  of  so  much  public 
consideration,  that  at  the  last  Election  in  this  State,  he  was 


held  up  for  Lieutenant-Governor.  Mr.  WATSON  bore 
his  share  in  our  revolutionary  struggle.  He  was  an  officer 
in  the  army,  and  served  with  usefulness  to  the  cause,  and 
credit  to  himself.  It  may  be  safely  asserted,  that  he  dis- 
charged the  duties  of  the  office  from  which  he  has  been  re- 
moved, with  ability,  industry,  fidelity,  and  economy. 

BUT  what  shall  we  think  of  the  crime  of  anti^r  evolution- 
ary  adherence  to  our  enemies^  when  the  character  of  DANIEL 
LUDLOW,  his  successor,  is  known?  Who  was  Mr.  LUD- 
LOW  in  the  year  seventy-six  ?  What  was  he,  and  where, 
from  that  period  to  the  year  eighty-three  ?  A  loyal  subject 
of  George  the  Third ;  within  the  enemies  lines,  and  of  his 
own  accord.  He  is  emphatically,  one  of  those  persons 
whom  the  Jacobins  of  this  country  are  forever  reproaching 
with  the  name  of  Old  Tory. 

THIS  man,  who  had  never  before  received  any  mark 
of  public  confidence  from  his  fellow-citizens,  is  now  se- 
lected by  the  President  to  fill  the  place  of  a  worthy  old 
Continental  Officer ;  and,  as  if  expressly  to  add  insult  to 
injustice,  this  is  done  under  the  profession,  that  his  ob- 
ject is  to  punish  those  who  have  been  guilty  of  "  anti-revo- 
w  lutionary  adherence  to  our  enemies.* 

THE  list  of  Removals  and  Appointments  contained  in 
the  Appendix,  will  furnish  the  reader  with  an  ample  text 
to  pursue  at  his  leisure  the  comments  that  I  have  begun* 


*  Whoever  is  acquainted  with  the  origin  and  progress  of  the  Man- 
hattan Bank,  will  be  at  no  loss  to  account  for  thU  appointment.    For  tfec 


t     48     ] 

tlE  will  find  those  cases  as  little  within  the  rules  by 
which  the  President  professes  to  be  governed,  as  these 
which  I  have  particularly  noticed- — They  will  all  equally 
serve  to  show,  that  Mr.  JEFFERSON  is  pursuing  a  sys* 
tern  of  policy  no  less  degrading  to  the  Chief  Magistrate, 
than  dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  our  country.  With  this 
object  steadily  in  view,  every  obstacle  must  be  removed? 
and  it  is  impiously  made  a  subject  of  complaint,  that 
Heaven  will  not  assist  in  the  scheme,  by  taking  from  the 
world  every  person  he  wishes  to  be  removed  from  office* 
<c  Vacancies  by  death  are  few  /" — The  destroying  angel  is 
not  sufficiently  expeditious  in  singling  out  the  objects  of 


satisfaction  of  those  who  live  remote  from  the  city  of  New-York,  it  may 
be  proper  to  observe,  that  this  BANK,  with  a  capital  of  Two  MILLIONS 
of  Dollars,  unrestricted  in  the  use  of  its  funds  as  other  banks  are,  was, 
by  the  influence  of  Mr.  BURR,  when  a  member  of  the  Legislature  of  this 
State,  ushered  into  being,  and  fairly  incorporated  by  an  act,  entitled, 
An  act  for  supplying  the  City  of  New-Turk  with  pure  and  wholesome  WATER  ! 
But  in  this  act,  which  in  the  preamble  "  promises,  under  the  blessing  of 
•'  God,  to  be  conducive  to  the  future  health  of  the  city  !"  there  was  af- 
terwards discovered  a  short  sentence,  authorizing  the  Company  to  employ 
all  surplus  capital  in  any  other  monied  transactions  or  operations  not  contrary 

to  law. Lo !  the  Corporation  start  with  the  surplus,  and  commence 

their  monied  operations  by  establishing  one  of  the  richest  banks  in  the 
United  States.  All  the  Directors  were  named  by  Mr.  BURR,  and  DANIEL 
L.UDLOW,  being  a  monied  man,  was  one  ;  he  was  then  elected  President. 
The  appointment  of  Mr.  LUDLOW  in  the  place  of  Mr.  WATSON,  of  Mr. 
SWARTWOUT  in  the  place  of  Col.  GILES,  of  Mr.  LIVINGSTON  in  the 
place  of  Mr.  HARRISON,  and  of  Mr.  GELSTON  in  the  place  of  Mr.  SANDS, 
are  all  to  be  traced  to  the  same  hand.  In  vain  may  Mr.  BURR  openly 
assert  that  he  knows  nothing  of  these  removals,  or  make  it  a  point  to 
insinuate,  that  he  disapproves  of  the  whole  system  :  he  may  rely  upon 
it  that  the  Federalists  are  more  and  more  aware  of  the  intricacy  of  his 
character,  and  more  and  more  apprehensive  of  his  subtil  machinations. 


C     49     } 

presidential  vengeance.  Mr.  JEFFERSON  himself,  there* 
fore,  seizes  the  exterminating  sword,  and,  although  he 
cannot  banish  from  the  earth,  he  expels  from  office ;  al- 
though he  cannot  consign  to  the  grave,  he  will  not  hesi- 
tate to  ruin. 

GAZING  round  him  with  wild  anxiety,  he  furiously  in- 
quires, u  How  are  vacancies  to  be  obtained?"  Distracted 
and  perplexed  with  the  question,  he  looks  in  vain  to  death 
for  the  solution — its  assistance  is  too  feeble  to  be  relied 
on,  and  resignation  affords  him  no  hopes. 

FOUR  tedious  months  had  passed  heavily  away,  and  the 
Federal  officers  would  neither  die  nor  resign.  Insolent 
and  unpardonable  "procedure!"  they  still  exist  to  mock 
his  efforts  and  frustrate  his  wishes  ;  in  despite  of  him  these 
heretics  continue  to  live  and  enjoy  what  is  due  only  to  die 
faithful.  Maddening  with  these  reflections,  the  "  infu- 
"  rioted  man"  with  "  agonizing  spasms"  springs  from 
his  seat,  and  swears  that  Federalism  shall  no  longer  live. 
"  During  the  throes  and  convulsions"  of  this  dreadful  pa- 
roxism,  he  seeks,  "through  blood  and  slaughter"  the  un- 
happy objects  of  his  rage ;  and,  by  the  application  of 
"  prompt  correctives"  he  restores  to  his  SECT  their  "  long- 
"lost  liberty."* 

To  this  "  agitation  of  the  billows"  succeeds  the  pros/, 
pect  of  a  "  peaceful  shore  >"  for  having  passed  thrpugh  this 


'*  .Inaugural  Speech. 
G 


t     50     ] 

44  tempestuous  sea  of  li&ertof"*  he  promises  to  "return 
u  with  joy  to  that  state  of  things,  when  the  only  questions 
"  concerning  a  candidate  shall  be,  is  he  honest?  is  he  capa- 
"  ble  ?  is  he  faithful  to  the  Constitution  ?" 

Return  to  that  state  of  things  !  How  significant  and  ex- 
pressive are  these  words,  that  such  inquiries  are  not  now 
connected  with  the  plans  of  Mr.  JEFFERSON.  Far  other 
recommendations  must  support  the  claims  to  Executive 
favor.  "Has  he  been  an  enemy  to  the  Constitution,  or  a 
"  foe  to  its  Administration  ?  Is  he  ready  to  yield  a  blind 
"  support  to  all  my  measures,  without  examining  for  him- 
"  self  whether  they  are  right  or  wrong  ?"  This  is  the  ortho- 
dox catechism  of  the  day,  and  he  who  can  answer  loudest, 
and  produce  the  best  proofs  of  his  conformity,  is  sure  of 
being  made  one  of  the  chosen  servants  of  the  people. 

DEPLORABLE  indeed  must  be  the  situation  of  a  coun- 
try, when  the  administration  of  its  public  affairs  is  com- 
mitted to  a  man  who  openly  avows  himself  to  be  so  strictly/ 
devoted  to  a  party,  that  honesty,  capacity,  and  allegiance 
are  not  of  themselves  sufficient  recommendations  to  public 
employment. — With  Mr.  JEFFERSON  this  is  not  the 
"  touchstone"  by  which  to  try  the  "  services  of  those  who 
"  are  trusted,"  unless,  with  the  commencement  of  a  new 
administration,  our  language  itself  is  to  undergo  a  change 
which  shall  render  knavery  and  probity,  ignorance  and 
knowledge,  synonimous  terms  ;  and  which  shall  make 
Jacobinism  to  mean  an  attachment  to  morals  and  good 
government. 

*  Letter  to  Mazz«L 


[     51     ] 

BEHOLD  then  the  picture  of  our  Chief  Magistrate. 

After  having  long  since  incautiously  exposed  his  real  sen- 
timents to  the  world,*  he  has  made  two  formal  addresses 
to  his  fellow-citizens,  for  the  purpose  of  informing  them 
what  he  deemed  to  be  "  the  essential  principles  of  our 
"government"  and  there  is  a  violent  collision  between 
the  two,  followed  by  a  practice  approaching  indeed  to  the 
last,  but  consistent  with  neither.  The  first  administration 
he  asserted  was  the  "  calm  of  despotism  .-"  *  when  he  came 
to  the  government  he  acknowledged  that  it  had  been  so. 
administered,  that  it  "  was  then  in  the  full-tide  of  success- 
"  fill  experiment ;"  \  yet  he  immediately  commenced  his 
career  with  abandoning  the  course  it  was  pursuing.  The 
first  u  Executive "  he  reprobated  as  belonging  to  an 
"  Anglo-monarchic-aristocratic  party ;"  then  admitted  that 
the  principles  by  which  the  former  administrations  had 
been  guided,  were  just,  and  "formed  the  bright  constel- 
"  lation  which  had  gone  before  him  /"-j*  and  he  has  finished 
by  charging  them  with  monopoly  and  unjust  exclusion  from 
office^,  and  by  meanly  endeavoring  to  fix  upon  their  friends 
an  odious  appellation.  WASHINGTON  he  first  slandered  as 
an  "  apostate  who  -would  -wrest  from  us  our  liberties ;"  '# 
then  assigned  to  him  "  the  Jirst  place  in  his  country's  love, 
<c  and  the  fairest  page  in  the  volumn  of  faithful  history  ;"-|* 
and  now  attacks  the  most  grateful  acts  of  his  administra- 
tion, by  expelling  from  office  those  who  had  been  early 
appointed  by  him  as  his  tried  friends — veterans  who  had 


*  Letter  to  Mazzei. — f  Inaugural  Speech.—  \  Reply  to  New-Haven 
Remonstrance. 


[     52     ] 

faithfully  and  gallantly  fought  by  his  side,  when  Mr.  JEF- 
TERSON,  in  the  hour  of  danger,  deserted  his  post  as  Go- 
vernor of  Virginia,  and  ignobly  sought  his  safety  in  flight. 
He  has  omitted  no  opportunity  since  his  return  to  public 
life,  to  flatter  us  with  a  "  tender  of  the  homage  of  his 
"  highest  respects"  and  to  inculcate  the  belief,  that  he  is 
THE  MAN  OF  THE  PEOPLE — Yet  he  sets  over  us  a  hateful 
FOREIGNER,  without  a  shadow  of  claim  for  services  ren- 
dered ;  unable  to  speak  our  language,  and  who  is  in- 
debted to  the  clemency  of  government  that  he  was  not 
exposed  to  the  danger  of  expiating  on  a  gibbet  the  crime 
of  HIGH  TREASON  against  that  insulted  country  whose 
councils  he  now  governs — The  man  who  excited  an  in- 
surrection to  prevent  the  collection  of  the  Revenue,  is 
with  singular  propriety  placed  at  the  head  of  the  Treasury. 
To  end  the  climax  of  folly,  inconsistency,  injustice,  and 
oppression,  we  see  our  citizens  first  punished,  then  ac- 
cused ;  and,  by  a  fatality  attending  the  measures  of  Mr. 
JEFFERSON,  those  only  whom  he  has  selected  as  the  ob- 
jects of  his  favor,  and  whom  he  has  exalted  upon  the  ruins 
of  the  good  and  the  virtuous,  come  directly  within  the 
terms  of  his  own  accusations — in  a  word,  we  see  a  system 
adopted,  and  actually  put  in  practice,  which  is  nothing 
short  of  an  outrage  upon  society  itself THE  INNOCENT 

ARE    PUNISHED THE  GUILTY    REWARDED. 

THE  conduct  of  this  man  adds  another  strong  confirma- 
tion to  that  important  truth  taught  us  in  every  page  of  his- 
tory ;  that  demagogues  in  possession  of  power,  are  always 
despots. 


{     53     ] 

THIS  serious  lesson  should  prove  to  us  a  salutary 
Warning.  Not  to  improve  by  the  admonition,  would 
betray  that  lethargic  indifference  which  is  the  prelude  to 
slavery.  Every  step  of  power  should,  from  this  moment, 
arrest  our  attention,  and  rouse  us  to  a  more  than  lynx- 
eyed  vigilance.  Those  we  have  already  seen,  create  equal 
apprehensions  by  the  tendency  of  their  course,  as  by  the 
alarming  rapidity  with  which  they  advance. 

LET  me  not  be  misunderstood.  I  mean  not  to  recom- 
mend that  unprincipled  and  indiscriminate  opposition  cha- 
racteristic only  of  Jacobins,  but  unworthy  of  the  cause  I 
espouse.  Let  us  on  all  occasions  yield  an  "  implicit  sub- 
"  mission  to  the  laws,  and  show  an  affection  to  the  Chief 
"  Magistrate,  proportioned  to  the  integrity  and  wisdom 
*'  with  which  he  distributes  justice,  and  administers  our 
"  affairs."  I  do  not  believe  it  would  be  in  his  power, 
whatever  might  be  his  inclination,  to  destroy  our  liberties, 
or  to  establish  any  very  dangerous  precedents  in  the  lapse 
of  four  years  ;  but  it  is  fit  and  proper  to  notice  all  his  mea- 
sures as  they  pass,  and  to  show  them  in  their  just  conse- 
quences, so  that  the  people  may  be  ready  to  avail  them- 
selves of  their  great  and  constitutional  remedy,  when  the 
period  of  election  shall  return. 

I  CLOSE  with  observing,  that  the  season  has  arrived, 
when  all  virtuous  and  well-disposed  men  should  for- 
get private  and  party  considerations,  and  form  a  great 
and  lasting  bond  of  UNION.  Whether  they  have  hereto- 
fore stood  in  the  opposition  with  JEFFERSON,  approved 


[     54     ] 

of  the  temporising  and  unfortunate  policy  of  ADAMS,  or 
admired  the  just  views  and  splendid  talents  of  HAMILTON, 
it  is  high  time  that  eirery  friend  to  his  country  should 
make  common  cause,  for  the  common  good,  against  the 
common  enemy. 


LUCIUS  JUNIUS  BRUTUS. 


APPENDIX. 


SPEECH 

OF 

THOMAS  JEFFERSON, 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

DELIVERED 

AT  HIS  INSTALMENT, 

MARCH  4,  1801, 
AT  THE  CITY  OF  WASHINGTON. 


Friends,  and  Fellow-Citizens, 

CALLED  upon  to  undertake  the  duties  of  the  First  Executive 
office  of  our.  Country,  I  avail  myself  of  the  presence  of  that 
portion  of  my  fellow-citizens,  which  is  here  assembled,  to  ex- 
press my  grateful  thanks,  for  the  favor  with  which  they  have 
been  pleased  to  look  towards  me  ;  to  declare  a  sincere  conscious- 
ness, that  the  task  is  above  my  talents,  and  that  I  approach  it 
with  those  anxious  and  awful  presentiments,  which  the  greatness 
of  the  charge,  and  the  weakness  of  my  powers,  so  justly  inspire. 
A  rising  nation,  spread  over  a  wide  and  fruitful  land — traversing 
all  the  seas  with  the  rich  productions  of  their  industry — engaged 
in  commerce  with  nations  who  feel  power  and  forget  right — ad- 
vancing rapidly  to  destinies  beyond  the  reach  of  mortal  eye ;  when 
I  contemplate  these  transcendent  objects,  and  see  the  honor,  the 
happiness,  and  the  hopes  of  this  beloved  country,  committed  to  the 
issue  and  the  auspices  of  this  day,  I  shrink  from  the  contemplation, 
and  humble  myself  before  the  magnitude  of  the  undertaking,  Ut- 


[     56     ] 

terly,  indeed,  should  I  despair,  did  not  the  presence  of  many, 
whom  I  here  see,  remind  me,  that,  in  the  other  high  authorities, 
provided  by  our  Constitution,  I  shall  find  resources  of  wisdom,  of 
virtue,  and  of  zeal,  on  which  to  rely  under  all  difficulties.  To 
you,  then,  gentlemen,  who  are  charged  with  the  sovereign  func- 
tions of  legislation,  and  to  those  associated  with  you,  I  look  with 
encouragement  for  that  guidance  and  support,  which  may  enable 
us  to  steer  with  safety,  the  vessel  in  which  we  are  all  embarked, 
amidst  the  conflicting  elements  of  a  troubled  world. 

DURING  the  contest  of  opinion  through  which  we  have  passed, 
the  animation  of  discussion  and  of  exertions,  has  sometimes  worn 
an  aspect  which  might  impose  on  strangers,  unused  to  think  freely, 
and  to  speak  and  to  write  what  they  think ;  but  this  being  now 
decided  by  the  voice  of  the  nation,  announced  according  to  the 
rules  of  the  Constitution,  all  will,  of  course,  arrange  themselves 
under  the  will  of  the  law,  and  unite  in  common  efforts  for  the 
common  good.  All,  too,  will  bear  in  mind  this  sacred  principle^- 
that  though  the  will  of  the  majority  is,  in  all  cases,  to  prevail,  that 
will,  to  be  rightful,  must  be  reasonable — that  the  minority  possess 
their  equal  rights,  which  equal  laws  must  protect,  and  to  violate 
would  be  oppression.  Let  us  then,  fellow-citizens,  unite  with 
one  heart,  and  one  mind;  let  us  restore  to  social  intercourse, 
that  harmony  and  affection,  without  which  liberty,  and  even  life 
itself,  are  but  dreary  things.  And  let  us  reflect,  that  having 
banished  from  our  land,  that  religious  intolerance,  under  which 
mankind  so  long  bled  and  suffered,  we  have  yet  gained  little,  if 
we  countenance  a  political  intolerance,  as  despotic,  as  wicked, 
and  capable  of  as  bitter  and  bloody  persecutions. 

DURING  the  throes  and  convulsions  of  the  ancient  world— 
during  the  agonizing  spasms  of  infuriated  man,  seeking  through 
blood  and  slaughter  his  long-lost  liberty,  it  was  not  wonderful  that 
the  agitation  of  the  billows  should  reach  even  this  distant  and 
peaceful  shore — that  this  should  be  more  felt  and  feared  by  some, 
and  less  by  others ;  and  should  divide  opinions  as  to  measures  of 
safety:  but  every  difference  of  opinion  is  not  a  difference  of 
principle.  We  have  called  by  different  names  brethren  of  the 
same  principle.  WE  ARE  ALL  REPUBLICANS;  WE  ARE 


[     57     ] 

ALL  FEDERALISTS.  If  there  be  any  among  us  who  wouid 
wish  to  dissolve  this  Union,  or  to  change  its  Republican  form,  let 
them  stand  undisturbed,  as  monuments  of  the  safety  with  which 
error  of  opinion  may  be  tolerated,  when  reason  is  left  free  to 
combat  it.  I  know,  indeed,  that  some  honest  men  fear  that  a 
Republican  Government  cannot  be  strong — that  this  government 
is  not  strong  enough.  But  would  the  honest  patriot,  in  the  full 
tide  of  successful  experiment,  abandon  a  government  which  has 
so  far  kept  us  free  and  firm,  on  the  theoretic  and  visionary  fear, 
that  this  Government,  the  world's  best  hope,  may,  by  possibility, 
want  energy  to  preserve  itself  ?  I  trust  not.  I  believe  this  on 
the  contrary,  the  strongest  government  on  earth — I  believe  if 
the  only  one,  where  every  man,  at  the  call  of  the  law,  would 
fly  to  the  standard  of  the  law,  and  would  meet  invasions  of  the 
public  order  as  his  own  personal  concern.  Sometimes  it  is  said, 
that  man  cannot  be  trusted  with  the  government  of  himself.  Can 
he  then  be  trusted  with  the  government  of  others  ?  Or  have  we 
found  angels  in  the  form  of  kings,  to  govern  him  ?  Let  history 
answer  this  question. 

LET  us,  then,  with  courage  and  confidence,  pursue  our  own 
Federal  and  Republican  principles — our  attachment  to  Union  and 
Representative  Government.  Kindly  separated,  by  nature  and 
a  wide  ocean,  from  the  exterminating  havoc  of  one  quarter  of  the 
globe — too  high  minded  to  endure  the  degradations  of  the  others 
— possessing  a  chosen  country,  with  room  enough  lor  our  de- 
scendants to  the  thousandth  and  thousandth  generation — en- 
tertaining a  due  sense  of  our  equal  right  to  the  use  of  our  own 

faculties — to  the  acquisitions  of  our  own  industry to  honor 

and  confidence  from  our  fellow-citizens  ;  resulting  not  from 
birth,  but  from  our  actions,  and  their  sense  of  them — enlightened 
by  a  benign  religion,  professed,  indeed,  and  practised  in  various 
forms,  yet  all  of  them  inculcating  honesty,  truth,  temperance, 
gratitude,  and  the  love  of  man — acknowledging  and  adoring  aa 
over-ruling  Providence,  which,  by  all  its  dispensations,  proves 
that  it  delights  in  the  happiness  of  man  here,  and  his  greater  hap* 
piness  hereafter:  with  all  these  blessings,  what  more  is  necessary 
to  make  us  a  happy  and  a  prosperous  people  ?  Still  one  thing 
more,  fellow-citizens,  a  wise  and  frugal  Government,  which  shall 

H 


restrain  men  from  injuring  one  another,  shall  leave  them  otherwise 
free  to  regulate  their  own  pursuits  of  industry  and  improvement, 
and  shall  not  take  from  the  mouth  of  labor  the  bread  it  has  earned. 
This  isr  the  sum  of  good  Government ;  and  this  is  necessary  to 
close  the  circle  of  our  felicities. 

ABOUT  to  enter,  fellow-citizens,  on  the  exercise  of  duties, 
which  comprehend  every  thing  clear  and  valuable  to  you,  it  is 
proper  you  should  understand  what  I  deem  the  essential  principles 
of  our  Government,  and  consequently  those  which  ought  to  shape 
its  administration.  I  will  compress  them  within  the  narrowest 
compass  they  will  bear,  stating  the  general  principle,  but  not  all 
its  limitations.  Equal  and  exact  justice  to  all  men,  of  whatever 
state  or  persuasion,  religious  or  political — peace,  commerce,  and 
honest  friendship  with  all  nations,  entangling  alliances  with  none 
— -the  support  of  the  State  Governments  in  all  their  rights,  as  the 
most  competent  administrations  for  our  domestic  concerns,  and  the 
surest  bulwarks  against  Anti-Republican  tendencies — the  preser- 
vation of  the  general  Government  in  its  whole  Constitutional 
vigor,  as  the  sheet  anchor  of  our  peace  at  home,  and  safety 
abroad — a  jealous  care  of  the  right  of  election  by  the  people — a 
mild  and  safe  corrective  of  abuses,  which  are  lopped  by .  the 
sword  of  revolution,  where  peaceable  remedies  are  unprovided — 
absolute  acquiescence  in  the  decisions  of  the  majority,  the  vital 
principle  of  Republics,  from  which  there  is  no  appeal  but  to  force, 
the  vital  principle  and  immediate  parent  of  despotism — a  well 
disciplined  militia,  our  best  reliance  in  peace,  and  for  the  first 
moments  of  war,  till  regulars  may  relieve  them — the  supremacy 
of  the  civil  over  the  military  authority — economy  in  the  public 
expense,  that  labor  may  be  lightly  burdened — the  honest  payment 
of  our  debts,  and  sacred  preservation  of  the  public  faith — encou- 
ragement of  agriculture,  and  of  commerce  as  its  handmaid — the 
diffusion  of  information,  and  arraignment  of  all  abuses  at  the  bar 
of  public  reason — freedom  of  religion ;  freedom  of  the  press ; 
and  freedom  of  person,  under  the  protection  of  the  habeas  corpus, 
and  trial  by  juries  impartially  selected.  These  principles  form 
the  bright  constellation  which  has  gone  before  us,  and  guided 
our  steps  through  an  age  of  revolution  and  reformation.  The 
wisdom  of  our  sages,  and  blood  of  our  heroes,  have  been  devoted 


[     59     ] 

to  their  attainment ;.  they  should  be  the  creed  of  our  political 
faith — the  text  of  civic  instruction — the  touchstone  by  which  to 
try  the  services  of  those  we  trust ;  and  should  we  wander  from 
them,  in  moments  of  error  or  of  alarm,  let  us  hasten  to  reirace 
our  steps,  and  to  regain  the  road  which  alone  leads  to  peace, 
liberty,  and  safety. 

I  REPAIR,  then,  fellow-citizens,  to  the  post  you  have  assigned 
me.  With  experience  enough  in  subordinate  offices,  to  have 
seen  the  difficulties  of  this,  the  greatest  of  all,  I  have  learned,to 
expect,  that  it  will  rarely  fail  to  the  lot  of  imperfect  man,  to  retire 
from  this  station  with  the  reputation  and  the  favor  which  bring 
him  into  it.  Without  pretensions  to  that  high  confidence  you 
reposed  in  our  first  and  greatest  revolutionary  character,  whose 
pre-eminent  services  had  entitled  him  to  the  first  place  in  his 
country's  love,  and  destined  for  him  the  fairest  page  in  the  volume 
of  faithful  history,  I  ask  so  much  confidence  only  as  may  give 
firmness  and  effect  to  the  legal  administration  of  your  affairs, 
shall  often  go  wrong,  through  defect  of  judgment.  When  riglA, 
I  shall  often  be  thought  wrong  by  those  whose  positions  will  not 
command  a  view  of  the  whole  ground.  I  ask  your  indulgence 
for  my  own  errors,  which  will  never  be  intentional ;  and  your 
support  against  the  errors  of  others,  who  may  condemn  what  they 
would  not,  if  seen  in  all  its  parts.  The  approbation  implied  by 
your  suffrage,  is  a  great  consolation  to  me  for  the  past;  and  my 
future  solicitude  will  be  to  retain  the  good  opinion  of  those  who 
have  bestowed  it  in  advance,  to  conciliate  that  of  others,  by  doing 
them  all  the  good  in  my  power,  and  to  be  instrumental  to  the 
happiness  and  freedom  of  all. 

RELYING,  then,  on  the  patronage  of  your  good  will,  I  advance 
with  obedience  to  the  work,  ready  to  retire  from  it  whenever 
you  become  sensible  how  much  better  choices  it  is  in  your  power 
to  make.  And  may  that  Infinite  Power,  which  rules  the  destinies 
of  the  Universe,  lead  our  Councils  to  what  is  best,  and  give 
them  a  favorable  issue  for  our  peace  and  prosperity. 

THOMAS  JEFFERSON. 

UNITED  STATES,   7 
March  4,  1801.      S 


NEW-HAVEN  REMONSTRANCE. 
TO  THOMAS  JEFFERSON,  ESQ. 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


THE  undersigned  merchants,  residing  at  the  port  and  within 
the  district  of  New-Haven,  respectfully  remonstrate  against 
the  late  removal  of  ELIZUR  GOODRICH,  Esq.  from  the  office 
of  collector  for  the  district  of  New-Haven,  and  the  appoint- 
ment of  SAMUEL  BIS.HOP,  Esq.  to  fill  his  vacancy.  As  the 
ground  of  our  remonstrance,  we  represent,  that  the  office,  while 
filled  by  Mr.  GOODRICH,  was  conducted  with  a  promptness, 
integrity,  and  ability,  satisfactory  to  the  mercantile  interest  of 
this  district — promptness  and  ability  not  to  be  found  in  his  suc- 
cessor. 

BELIEVING  the  character  of  E.  GOODRICH,  Esq.  as  an  officer, 
to  be  unexceptionable,  we  lament  that  it  should  be  conceived  ne- 
cessary, that  a  change  in  the  administration  must  produce  a  change 
in  the  subordinate  officers,  and  in  this  instance  we  have  especial- 
ly to  lament  that  certain  measures  have  succeeded  in  deceiving 
the  President  so  far  as  to  induce  him  to  appoint  a  man  to  an 
important  office,  who  does  not  possess  those  qualifications  neces- 
sary for  the  discharge  of  its  duties.  We  hesitate  not  to  say,  that 
had  the  President  known  the  circumstances  and  situation  of  the 
candidate,  he  would  have  rejected  the  application.  To  prove 
this,  let  facts  be  submitted  to  the  consideration  of  the  President. 

SAMUEL  BISHOP,  Esq.  will  be  seventy-eight  years  old  in 
November  next. 


[     61      ] 

HE  is  laboring  under  a  full  portion  of  those  infirmities  which 
are  incident  to  that  advanced  period  of  life. 

WITH  these  infirmities,  andan  alarming  loss  of  eye-sight,  though 
he  was  once  a  decent  pen-man,  it  is  with  difficulty  he  can  even 
write  his  name. 

HE  was  never  bred  an  accountant ;  nor  has  the  course  of  his 
business  ever  led  him  to  an  acquaintance  with  the  most  simple 
forms  of  accounting. 

HE  is  totally  unacquainted  with  the  system  of  Revenue  Laws, 
and  the  forms  of  doing  mercantile  business,  and  is  now  too  far  ad- 
vanced in  life,  and  too  much  enfeebled  both  m  body  and  mind, 
ever  to  learn  either. 

A  MAN  whose  age,  whose  infirmities,  and  want  of  the  requi- 
site knowledge  is  such,  is  unfit  to  be  the  Collector  of  the  district 
oi  New-Haven. 

WE  are  aware  that  it  may  be  said,  he  has  sustained  with  re- 
putation, and  now  holds  several  offices  in  the  city,  town  and 
county ;  but  it  will  be  remembered,  I  hat  none  of  them  are  by  re- 
cent promotion. — His  office  of  Mayor  he  holds  by  charter  dur- 
ing the  pleasure  of  the  legislature — and  he  is  continued  as  Judge 
of  the  County  Court,  and  Town  Clerk,  because  the  people  of 
this  state  are  not  in  the  habit  of  neglecting  those  who  once  en- 
joyed their  confidence  by  a  long  course  of  usefulness. 

KNOWING  the  man  as  we  do,  we  do  not  hesitate  to  say,  that 
he  cannot,  without  aid,  perform  a  single  official  act. 

IT  may  be  said,  that  the  appointment  was  with  a  view  to  the 
aid  of  his  son  ABRAHAM  BISHOP,  Esq.  and  that  he  is  to  be  the 
real  Collector.  We  presume  the  business  must  be  done  by  him 
if  done  at  all.  Yet  we  cannot  be  led  to  believe  that  the  President 
would,  knowingly,  appoint  a  person  to  the  discharge  of  duties  to 
which  he  was  incompetent,  with  a  design  that  they  should  be 
performed  by  his  son,  If,  however,  this  was  the  case,  we  expU- 


ritly  state,  that  ABRAHAM  BISHOP,  Esq.  is  so  entirely  destitute 
of  public  confidence,  so  conspicuous  for  his  enmity  to  commerce, 
and  opposition  to  order,  and  so  odious  to  his  fellow-citizens,  that 
\ve  presume  his  warmest  partizans  would  not  have  hazarded  a 
jecommendation  of  him. 

KNOWING  these  facts,  of  which  we  must  believe  the  President 
ignorant,  and  relying  on  assurances,  "  that  he  will  promote  the 
**  general  welfare,  without  regarding  distinction  of  parties,"  we 
cherish  the  idea  that  our  grief  at  the  rejection  of  Mr.  GOODRICH, 
will  not  be  augmented  by  the  continuance  of  a  father  utterly  un- 
qualified for  the  office,  or  of  a  son  so  universally  condemned. 

WE  assure  the  President,  that  the  sentiments  thus  expressed, 
are  the  sentiments  of  the  merchants  and  importers  of  the  district. 
That  such  a  class  of  citizens  should  be  heard  patiently,  and  their 
well  founded  complaints  redressed,  if  practicable,  we  are  fully 
persuaded.  If  it  be  an  object  "  to  restore  harmony  to  social  in- 
tercourse," and  if  decision,  "  at  the  bar  of  public  reason/*  be 
worthy  of  attention,  surely  such  a  portion  of  the  community 
Vfill  not  plead  in  vain,  for  a  re-consideration  of  his  appointment, 
and  that  such  an  important  office  may  be  filled  by  a  person  com- 
petent to  the  performance  of  its  duties,  and  in  some  degree  ac- 
ceptable to  the  public. 

Signed  by 

JEREMIAH  AT  WATER,  ELI  AS  SHIPM AN,  ABRAHAM  BRA D- 
J.EY,  ABEL  BURNET,  and  others  to  the  number  of  eighty  persons. 

WE  certify,  that  the  signers  of  the  foregoing  Remonstrance, 
are  the  owners  of  more  than  seven-eighths  of  the  navigation  of 
the  pdrt  of  New-Haven. 

(Signed) 

ISAAC  BEERS, 
President  of  the  Bank,  and  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  in  New-Haven. 

ELIAS  SHIPMAN, 

President  of  the  New-Haven  Insurance  Company. 


[     63     ] 
THE  PRESIDENTS  REPLY. 

WASHINGTON,  JULY  12,  1801. 

GENTLEMEN, 

I  HAVE  received  the  remonstrance  you  were  pleased  to  ad- 
dress to  me,  on  the  appointment  of  SAMUEL  BISHOP  to  th« 
office  of  Collector  of  New-Haven,  lately  vacated  by  the  death 
of  DAVID  AUSTIN.  The  right  of  our  fellow-citizens  to  repre- 
sent to  the  public  functionaries  their  opinion,  on  proceedings  in- 
teresting to  them,  is  unquestionably  a  constitutional  right,  often 
useful,  sometimes  necessary,  and  will  alwrays  be  respectfully  ac- 
knowledged by  me. 

OF  the  various  Executive  duties,  no  one  excites  more  anxious 
concern  than  that  of  placing  the  interest  of  our  fellow-citizens  in 
the  hands  of  honest  men,  with  understanding  sufficient  for  their 
station.  No  duty,  at  the  same  time,  is  more  difficult  to  fulfil.  The 
knowledge  of  characters  possessed  by  a  single  individual,  is  of  ne- 
cessity limited.  To  seek  out  the  best  through  the  whole  Union, 
we  must  resort  to  other  information,  which,  from  the  best  of  mo- 
tives, is  sometimes  incorrect.  In  the  case  of  SAMUEL  BISHOP, 
however,  the  subject  of  your  remonstrance,  time  was  taken,  in- 
formation was  sought,  and  such  obtained  as  could  leave  no  room 
to  doubt  of  his  fitness.  From  private  sources  it  was  learnt,  that 
his  understanding  was  sound,  his  integrity  pure,  his  character  un- 
stained. And  the  offices  confided  to  him  within  his  own  state, 
are  public  evidences  of  the  estimation  in  which  he  is  held  by  the 
state  in  general,  and  the  city  and  township  particularly  in  which 
he  lives.  He  is  said  to  be  the  Town  Clerk,  a  Justice  of  the 
Pv'ace,  Mayor  of  the  City  of  New-Haven,  an  office  held  at  the 
will  of  the  Legislature;  Chief  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas  for  New-Haven  county,  a  court  of  high  criminal  and  civil 
jurisdiction,  wherein  most  causes  are  decided  without  the  right  of 
appeal  or  review  :  and  sole  Judge  of  Court  of  Probates,  wherein 
he  singly  decides  all  questions  of  wills,  settlements  of  estates,  tes- 
tate and  intestate,  appoints  guardians,  settles  their  accounts,  and 
«  in  fact  has  under  his  jurisdiction  and  care,  all  the  property  real 


[     6*     ] 

and  personal  of  persons  dying.     The  two  last  offices,  in  the  an- 
nual gift  of  the  Legislature,  were  given  to  him  in  May  last. 

Is  it  possible  that  the  man  to  whom  the  Legislature  of  Connecti- 
cut has  so  recently  committed  trusts  of  such  difficulty  and  magni- 
tude, is  unfit  to  be  the  collector  of  the  district  of  New-Haven, 
though  acknowledged  in  the  same  writing,  to  have  obtained  all 
this  confidence  by  a  long  course  of  usefulness  ? — It  is  objected  in- 
deed, in  the  remonstrance,  that  he  is  77  years  of  age;  but,  at  a 
much  more  advanced  age,  our  FRANKLIN  was  the  ornament  of 
human  nature.  He  may  not  be  able  to  perform  in  person  all  the 
details  of  his  office  :  but  if  he  gives  us  the  benefit  of  his  under- 
standing, his  integrity,  his  watchfulness,  and  takes  care  that  ail 
the  details  are  well  performed  by  himself  or  his  necessary  assis- 
tants, all  public  purposes  will  be  answered.  The  remonstrance 
indeed  does  not  alledge  that  the  office  has  been  illy  conducted,  but 
only  apprehends  that  it  will  be.  so.  Should  this  happen  in  event, 
be  assured  I  will  do  in  it  what  shall  be  just  and  necessary  for  the 
public  service.  In  the  mean  time  he  should  be  tried  without  be- 
ing prejudged. 

THE  removal,  as  it  is  called,  of  Mr.  GOODRICH,  forms  an- 
other subject  of  complaint.  Declarations  by  myself  in  favor  of 
political  tolerance,  exhortations  to  harmony  and  affection  in  social 
intercourse,  and  to  respect  for  the  equal  rights  of  the  minority, 
have,  on  certain  occasions,  been  quoted  and  misconstrued  into 
assurances,  that  the  tenure  of  offices  was  not  to  be  disturbed. 
But  could  candor  apply  such  a  construction  ?  It  is  not  in  the  re- 
monstrance that  we  find  it ;  but  it  leads  to  the  explanations  which 
that  calls  for. 

WHEN  it  is  considered,  that  during  the  late  administration, 
those  who  were  not  of  a  particular  sect  of  politics  were  excluded 
from  all  office ;  when  by  a  steady  pursuit  of  this  measure,  near- 
ly the  whole  offices  of  the  United  States  were  monopolized  by 
that  sect ;  when  the  public  sentiment  at  length  declared  itself, 
and  burst  open  th'c  doors  of  honor  and  confidence  to  those  whose 
opinions  they  more  approved ;  was  it  to  be  imagined  that  this 
monopoly  of  office  was  still  to  be  continued  in  the  hands  of  the  ^ 


r  63  ] 

minority?  Does  it  violate  their  equal  rights,  to  assert  some 
rights  in  the  majority  also  ?  Is  it  political  intolerance  to  claim  a 
proportionate  share  in  the  direction  of  the  public  affairs  ?  Can 
they  not  harmonize  in  society  unless  they  have  every  thing  in 
their  own  hands  ? 

IF  the  will  of  (he  nation,  manifested  by  their  various  elections, 
calls  for  an  administration  of  government  according  with  the 
opinions  of  those  elected ;  if,  for  the  fulfilment  of  that  will,  dis- 
placements are  necessary,  with  whom  can  they  so  justly  begin 
as  with  persons  appointed  in  the  last  moments  of  an  administra- 
tion, not  for  its  own  aid,  but  to  begin  a  career  at  the  same  time 
with  their  successors,  by  whom  they  had  never  been  approved* 
and  who  could  scarcely  expect  from  them  a  cordial  co-operation  ? 
Mr.  GOODRICH  was  one  of  these.  Was  it  proper  for  mm  to 
place  himself  in  office,  without  knowing  whether  those  whose 
agent  he  was  to  be,  could  have  confidence  in  his  agency  ?  Ca;i 
the  preference  of  another,  as  the  successor  of  Mr.  AUSTIN,  be 
candidly  called  a  removal  of  Mr.  GooonrcH  ?  If  a  due  partici- 
pation of  office  is  a  matter  of  right,  how  are  vacancies  to  be  ob- 
tained? Those  by  death  are  few,  bv  resignation  none.  Can 
any  other  mode  then  but  removal  be  proposed?  This  is  a  painful 
office :  but  it  is  made  my  duty,  and  I  meet  it  as  such.  I  proceed 
in  the  operation  with  deliberation  and  inquiry,  that  it  may  injure 
the  best  men  lea>t,  and  effect  the  purposes  of  justice  and  public 
utility  with  the  least  private  distress;  that  it  may  be  thrown  a> 
much  as  possible  on  delinquency,  on  oppression,  on  intolerance, 
on  anti-revolutionary  adherence  to  our  enemies. 

THE  Remonstrance  laments,  "  that  a  change  in  the  adminh- 
"  tration  must  produce  a  change  in  the  subordinate  officers;"  in 
other  words,  that  it  should  be  deemed  necessary  for  all  officers 
to  think  with  their  principal.  But  on  whom  does  this  imj)ir.«ij 
tion  bear  ?  On  those  who  have  excluded  from  office  every  shade 
of  opinion  which  was  not  theirs  ?  or  on  those  who  have  been  so 
excluded? — I  lament  sincerely,  that  unessential  differences  in 
opinion  should  have  been  deemed  sufficient  to  interdict  half  the 
society  from  the  right  and  the  blessings  of  self-government ;  to 

I 


t     66     ] 

proscribe  them  as  unworthy  of  every  trust.  It  would  have  been 
to  me  a  circumstance  of  great  relief,  had  I  found  a  moderate 
participation  of  office  in  the  hands  of  the  majority  ;  I  would 
gladly  have  left  to  time  and  accident  to  raise  them  to  thek  just 
share.  But  their  total  exclusion  calls  for  prompter  correctives. 
I  shall  correct  the  procedure ;  but  that  done,  return  with  joy  to 
that  state  of  things,  when  the  only  questions  concerning  a  candi- 
date shall  be,  is  he  honest  ?  is  he  capable  ?  is  he  faithful  to  the 
Constitution  ? 

I  tender  you  the  homage  of  my  highest  respect, 

THOMAS  JEFFERSON. 


To  ELIAS  SHIPMAN,  Esq.  and  others^ 
Members  of  a  Committee  of  the  Mer- 
chants of  New-Haven. 


\ 


REMOVALS  AND  APPOINTMENTS. 


The  subsequent  LIST  contains  the  Names  of  the  FEDERAL  RE-. 
PUBLICANS  who  have  been  dismissed  from  office,  by  the  Pre- 
sident of  the  United  States,  on  account  of  their  political  opin- 
ions ;  together  with  the  names  of  the  Persons  ivho  have  been  ap- 
pointed in  their  places,  since  the  4th  of  March,  1801. 

1.  John  Wilkes  Kittera,  Attorney  for  the  Eastern  District  of 
Pennsylvania,  dismissed;  Alexander  James  Dallas  appointed  in 
his  room. 

2.  John  Hall,  Marshal  of  the  same  District,  dismissed;  John 
Smith  appointed  in  his  room. 

3.  Samuel  Hodgdon,  Superintendent  of  Public  Stores  at  Phi- 
ladelphia, dismissed;  William  Irvine  appointed  in  his  room. 

4.  John  Harris,  Store-keeper  at  the  same  place,  dismissed;. 
Robert  Jones,  appointed  in  his  room. 

5.  Henry  Miller,  Supervisor  of  the  Revenue  of  the  District  of 
Pennsylvania,  dismissed;  Peter  Muhlenberg  appointed  in  his  room. 

6.  J.  M.  Lingan,  Attorney  for  the  District  of  Columbia,  dis- 
missed; Daniel  Carrol  Brent  appointed  in  his  room. 

7.  Thomas  Swann,  Attorney,  dismissed;  John  Thompson  Ma- 
son appointed  in  his  room. 

% 

8.  John  Pierce,  Commissioner  of  Loans  for  the  State  of  New- 
Hampshire,  dismissed ;  William  Gardiner  appointed  in  his  room. 

9.  Thomas  Martin,  Collector  of  the  District  of  Portsmouth,  in 
the  same  State,  dismissed;  Joseph  Whipple  appointed  in  his  room. 

<JO.  Jacob  Sheaffe,  Navy  Agent  at  Portsmouth,  New-Hamp- 
shire, dismissed;  Woodbury  Langdon  appointed  in  his  room. 


[     68     ] 

1 1 .  Richard  Harrison,  Attorney  for  the  District  of  New- York, 
dismissed;  Edward  Lwingston  appointed  in  his  room. 

12.  Aquila  Giles,  Marshal  of  the  same  District,  dismissed; 
John  Swartwout  appointed  in  his  room. 

13.  James  Watson,  Navy  Agent  for  New- York,  dismissed; 
Daniel  Ludlow  appointed  in  his  room. 

14.  Joshua  Sands,  Collector  of  the  Port  of  New-York,  dismiss- 
ed; David  Gelston  appointed  in  his  room. 

15.  Nicholas  Fish,  Supervisor  of  the  District  of  New- York, 
dismissed;  Samuel  Osgood  appointed  in  his  room. 

16.  William  Smith,  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  the  Court  of 
Portugal— and 

17.  William  Vans  Murray,  Minister  Resident  to  the  Batavian 
Republic,  dismissed,  by  a  vacation  of  their  respective  legations. 

18.  David  Humphreys,  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  the  Courl: 
of  Madrid,  dismissed;  Charles  Pinckney  appointed  in  his  room. 

]  9.  Elizur  Goodrich,  Collector  of  New-Haven,  in  Conneo 
ticut,  dismissed;  Samuel  Bishop  appointed  in  his  room. 

20.  John  Chester,  Supervisor  of  the  District  of  Connecticut, 
dismissed;  Ephraim  Kirby  appointed  in  his  room. 

21.  Ray  Greene,  Judge  of  Rhode-Island  District,  dismissed  \ 
David  L.  Barnes  appointed  in  his  room.     An  informality  in  fill- 
ing up  the  Commission  of  Mr.  Greene,  afforded  an  opportunity 
ipr  his  removal. 

22.  Winthrop  Sergeant,  Governor  of  the  Missisippi  Territory, 
dismissed;  William  C.  C.  Claiborne  appointed  in  his  room. 

23.  David  Hopkins;  Marshal  of  the  District  of  Maryland, 
dismissed;  Reuben  Elting  appointed  in  his  room. 

24.  Andrew  Bell,  Collector  of  the  Port  of  Amboy,  dismissed; 
paniel  Marsh  appointed  in  his  room, 


[     69     ] 

25.  Aaron  Dunham,  Supervisor  of  the  District  of  New-Jersey, 
dismissed;  James  Linn  appointed  in  his  room. 

26.  James  Doll,  Marshal  of  the  District  of  Albany,  dismiss- 
ed; Hermanus  H.  Wendell  appointed  in  his  room. 

27.  Robert  Hamilton,  Marshal  of  the  District  of  Delaware, 
dismissed;  Joel  Lewis  appointed  in  his  room. 

28.  Harrison  G.  Otis,  Attorney  for  the  District  of  Massachu- 
setts, dismissed;  George  Blake  appointed  in  his  room. 

29.  Chauncey  Whittelsey,  Collector  of  Middletown,  Connec* 
ticut,  dismissed;  Alexander  Wolcott  appointed  in  his  room. 


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